Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a report of the Director of Business Strategy, Communities Portfolio, containing the Sheffield Adult Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2012/13, which provided an overview of Adult Safeguarding activity and information on the contribution individual partners had made towards Adult Safeguarding in the City.

6.2

In attendance for this item were Susan Fiennes, Independent Chair, Sheffield Adult Safeguarding Partnership, and Simon Richards, Head of Quality and Adult Safeguarding, Communities Portfolio.

6.3

Members of the Committee raised questions and the following responses were provided:-

·                     All alerts referred to the Council regarding Adult Safeguarding concerns were given serious consideration.  All complaints were assessed, and in those cases where it was considered that there had been no actual abuse, whilst no further action was taken by the Council, the victims and/or complainants were directed to the appropriate groups/organisations who could provide the relevant support.  Efforts were made to encourage anyone who had contact with vulnerable adults to raise any concerns they had and, if it was not considered a safeguarding issue, officers were happy to discuss any other forms of support available.  Representatives from all the Council’s partners were trained to recognise any safeguarding issues.

·                     There was a significant connection between safeguarding and domestic abuse. The Partnership was aware of such a connection as the Lead for Domestic Abuse in the City was a member of the Safeguarding Adults Board. 

·                     There was support available for alerters in that there was a policy to ensure that they were recognised and protected, and that there was a route for them to take any action they deemed necessary.  There was a continuous process whereby people who had contact with vulnerable adults were educated and informed of what was acceptable or not in terms of the care of such people. Whilst every effort possible was made to encourage people to report any concerns, there was a strong reliance on people informing the Council of any issues. 

·                     There was a feedback process whereby alerters were informed of where and how their concerns were considered.  Training was offered, through the voluntary sector, to highlight the issues facing carers and family members in terms of the Home Care Service.  The Quality and Adult Safeguarding Service, using what resources were available, continued to provide information and advice on what carers and family members should be aware of in terms of safeguarding.  Communication was viewed as an active part of the Partnership’s work. 

·                     Statistics in terms of criminal prosecutions or cautions, as compared with other local authorities, were not available, but such information could be circulated to Members of the Committee.  The Police would make a judgement in terms of whether they prosecuted or cautioned perpetrators, and there had been a number of recent cases where prosecutions had been made.  A recent review of policy by the Crown Prosecution Service was likely to have an impact on the consideration given to evidence provided in terms of safeguarding cases.  The Partnership had to have confidence in companies’ recruitment processes in terms of the suitability of care workers appointed by them, and was also dependent on the standard of the companies contracted by the Council. 

·                     It was not clear whether there was any specific training available for those people who had the Power of Attorney of relatives or friends receiving care so that they can be made aware of what they should or should not be doing in order to stop them being accused of making their relatives or friends vulnerable.  It was believed that such people having the Power of Attorney would be provided with some basic advice on this issue when taking up the role, and there was also an expectance that such people would have some level of responsibility.

·                     The Safe Places Scheme was jointly funded by the Adult Safeguarding Partnership and Safer and Sustainable Communities, and comprised a number of ‘safe places’ in all areas of the City which provide a ‘refuge’ to vulnerable people who were feeling afraid or were lost or unwell.  As part of the scheme, a part-time co-ordinator, based at Heeley City Farm, was employed to work with a dedicated group of service users to advertise and embed the Scheme.  A number of staff and volunteers had been given education and support to provide vulnerable adults with the confidence to engage with the local and wider communities.

·                     An active Customer Forum was in operation in Sheffield. The Forum was led by service users and included people who were at risk of harm. The Forum was influential and was consulted on a broad range of safeguarding issues, a recent example of this being the consultation on the revised South Yorkshire safeguarding procedures.

·                     A number of actions had been taken, and procedures improved, following the Winterbourne View Care Home case, including an initial review, and an ongoing review of existing placements and consideration of contracting arrangements.  A number of assurances had been made that safeguarding procedures had been improved after this case.

·                     The Partnership welcomed the views of Healthwatch Sheffield, and aimed to build up a relationship so that its views could be fed into the process.  Simon Richards had met with Jason Bennett, Chief Officer, Healthwatch Sheffield, to discuss their views on adult safeguarding in the City and extended an invitation to meet with the Healthwatch Sheffield members on this Committee to discuss their views.

·                     It was appreciated that there was pressure on care workers in terms of their workloads, particularly when they were forced to spend more time with certain clients, which impacted on the time they could spend with others. If Members had any specific concerns, the Chair suggested that they be raised with Barbara Carlisle, Head of Strategic Commissioning and Partnership, Communities, and that a request be made of Councillor Mary Lea, Cabinet Member for Health, Care and Independent Living, to see if the Committee could have any involvement in the discussions with regard to the letting of contracts for Home Care Services.  It was acknowledged that it was likely to be too late in the process, but that the question would still be raised.

·                     It was accepted that there was a need to raise awareness levels in connection with self-referrals which, at present, remained at a low level.  Ideally, the best option would be to give people the confidence to make self-referrals, but, if this was not the case, they needed to be able to trust someone to make a referral on their behalf.

·                     The non-reporting of safeguarding issues relating to individuals with mental health problems was a priority for the Partnership, and representatives were due to meet with the Social Care Trust this week to discuss their concerns. 

·                     It was imperative that victims themselves who were reporting any safeguarding concerns, or any relatives or friends reporting concerns on the victims’ behalf, were protected as part of the process.  A Protection Plan and Strategy discussions took this into account. Although it could not be quantified with hard evidence, it was believed there were robust procedures to protect people raising safeguarding concerns. 

·                     The Partnership needed to undertake more work to ensure that people most at risk were aware of the safeguarding process and to promote what safeguarding involved. There had recently been a major publicity campaign, raising awareness of the issues. The results of the Partnership’s customer satisfaction survey had indicated that it was performing satisfactorily in this regard. 

6.4

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       notes the information contained in the report now submitted, together with the responses to the questions raised;

(b)       thanks Susan Fiennes and Simon Richards for attending the meeting and responding to the questions raised; and

(c)        requests that:-

(i)            the Chair writes to (i) the District Commander, South Yorkshire Police and Member of the Adult Safeguarding Executive Board, requesting a response in terms of why the number of criminal prosecutions for alleged perpetrators was so low and (ii) the Health and Social Care Trust, requesting a response from the Trust with regard to the low number of referrals from mental health, and to feedback to the Committee thereon;

(ii)          the Sheffield Adult Safeguarding Partnership (i) looks into how it could maximise publicity in respect of the Safeguarding Adults Safe Places project, (ii) considers a specific piece of work, aimed at enhancing safeguarding training through the Council’s contracting process, such as reviewing safeguarding processes and ensuring providers recruitment procedures were robust, and also to look at providers offering safeguarding training to people who use their services and (iii) provides a progress report to the Committee on a quarterly basis;

(iii)         Susan Fiennes shares details of any steps taken to improve safeguarding procedures, in the light of the Winterbourne Care Home case, with Members of this Committee when available;