Agenda item

Derek Benson explained that the Safeguarding Adults Annual Report covered the year up to the end of March 2020 but also highlighted how safeguarding had been impacted by Covid-19 since then.

Since March the Board has met more frequently than previously to discuss issues of concern such as scams, referrals and the situation in care homes and rough sleeping. The Safeguarding Adult Review on Rough Sleeping had been recently published. The Annual Report gave details about budgets and the structure of the Board and its sub-groups. There was less data in the report than previous years due to pressure on staff this year and the transfer of systems which meant it had proved difficult to compare data to previous years.

There was a broad range of representation on the Board and good attendance from adult Social Care, the Police, the CCG, Health, Probation, Regulatory Services, PH, District Councils, Housing Services, Care Homes and the Voluntary Sector.

Progress had been made against the Board’s objectives:

1 – Ensuring there was an effective pathway for safeguarding concerns – Developments included the introduction of a website created with the Children’s Partnership; a newsletter; regular learning events and a revised training strategy,

2- Joint Working with the Children’s Partnership – Working together on projects around exploitation and Get Safe,

3 - working with the University of Worcester on how to scope a project around exploitation,

Safeguarding Adult Review of Rough Sleeping: the problem had been addressed in the short term with funding during the pandemic but after the funding stops the issue would still remain. In 2019/20 there were 12 referrals which had led to 5 new SARs. There was also a lot of work carried over from the previous year. There was an established process for Safeguarding reviews and more were carried out in Worcestershire than in some other areas.

Priorities for this year and going forward were around making the system work around the mental capacity act, Liberty Protection Safeguards, working with Children’s Safeguarding and wicked issues such as exploitation and rough sleeping.

The Chairman thanked Derek for the report and wished to place on record his thanks to the District Councils for the work they had done during the pandemic on finding accommodation for rough sleepers. 

Board Members made various comments:

·       The report was welcomed and partnership working was recognised as necessary for moving issues forward

·       There were 2 projects around exploitation, one led by the police had needed to be put on hold but the other project with the University was now progressing and learning was being gained from the excellent work which had been done by Children’s services

·       It was queried whether the system was robust enough to get through the difficult winter that was undoubtedly ahead, especially concerning rough sleeping and whether the safeguarding board had enough resources. It was hoped that funding for rough sleepers continued because the present situation had shown that with extra funding an impact can be made. The rough sleeping review was being shared with partners at an event shortly. At present partners would not be asked to provide any additional resources for safeguarding but that issue was kept under quarterly review

·       Cross cutting work with children’s safeguarding would continue. Some areas had to be dealt with separately, but efforts were made to maximise the benefits of joint working

·       There was disappointment over the lack of data continuity but Board Members were assured that officers did not have to rely on the data to carry out their roles

·       It was queried who would be responsible for ensuring the recommendations of the SAR on rough sleeping were implemented, firstly the Chairman of the Safeguarding Board said he would take initial responsibility but there needed to be action from other Directors. It was suggested that the Health and Well-being Board should hold the ultimate responsibility through its work with different agencies, including housing, but that highlighted the importance of Partnership working.

RESOLVED that The Health and Well-being Board considered any cross-cutting themes and would refer issues either directly to the WSAB or, through the next Joint Cross Cutting Issues meeting to be held between the Chairs of the four Boards.