Archived decisions

Agenda Item 6

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Report

1. Purpose of Report

1.1. The purpose of the report is to update the Select Committee on developments within Hampshire County Council Adult Services Department in relation to adult safeguarding practice.

1.2. This report will use the broad findings from the Commission for Social Care Inspection - CSCI - report (Safeguarding Adults: a study of the effectiveness of arrangements to safeguard adults from abuse, Nov. 2008) as a framework to briefly describe the developments in Adult Services Department over the last 9 month period and will identify the key elements of the work programme for the rest of 2009/10.

2. Contextual Information

2.1. Safeguarding adults is a responsibility placed upon local authorities through the `No Secrets' guidance (2000) and based on the Local Authority and Social Services Act 1970. Through this mandatory guidance the local authority has a coordinating role to work in partnership with other key agencies, to put in place services which act to prevent abuse, provide assessment and investigation of abuse and ensure adults are given an opportunity to access positive outcomes.

2.2. Adult Safeguarding does not currently have the same legal framework as safeguarding within Children's Services and as a result, partnership working across agencies must be achieved through persuasion and influence rather than compulsion. During 2008/09 the Department of Health conducted a large consultation exercise to update the `No Secrets' guidance and to test whether further legislation is required to safeguarding adults. It is anticipated that the Government's initial response to the findings of this consultation will be published in early Autumn 2009 and that arrangements may well be strengthened to better support service users.

2.3. In November 2008, CSCI published a report which outlined the results of safeguarding inspections across Councils which highlighted a number of areas of weaknesses. In order to demonstrate progress within the Adult Services Department in these areas, they are outlined below.

2.4. Uneven progress by Councils in developing effective arrangements to safeguard people

Hampshire County Council Adult Services Department has an established multi-agency Safeguarding Board, chaired by the Director of Adult Services and supported by a number of sub-groups which include: an emergency services group; a service user committee and a financial abuse group as well as groups focussing on particular sectors.. These groups are developing joint working on the safeguarding agenda. The Board has clear Terms of Reference and a Strategy which has been agreed by all parties. There is also a multi-agency Serious Case Review process in place which allows very serious issues to be referred for full consideration and identification of learning.

In addition, an executive body of key statutory members has been developed to drive the business of the Safeguarding Board and firmer links have been developed between the Safeguarding Adults and Children Boards. One of the key pieces of work in the coming months is a full consideration of how the Baby Peter case, and resultant report from Lord Laming, will affect safeguarding practice within the Adult Services Department.

Clear links are being developed to related agendas such as domestic abuse and Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) for monitoring of serious offenders. In addition, further work is being done to place adult safeguarding as one of the work streams of the community safety review, commissioned by the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

2.5 Variability in the quality of support offered to victims

The Adult Services Department has reviewed the structure which supports safeguarding work and has appointed a number of Safeguarding Co-ordinators (7 FTE). These posts are based in care management teams and ensure consistency and effectiveness of approach to safeguarding issues when they arise.

2.6 In almost three quarters of council inspections unacceptable variability was found in the standard of practice

HCC Adult Services Department has a robust Adult Safeguarding policy in place which is acknowledged by CSCI and it's successor body, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), to be both comprehensive and clear. The policy is supported by training programmes, offered to HCC, partner agency and independent sector staff.

The policy and training ensure that the expected standard of practice is very clear for all staff working within HCC services.

2.7 Some councils are providing more specific guidance to staff to distinguish between allegations that should be dealt with through safeguarding procedures and those which should be investigated in other ways

The Adult Services Department has developed further guidance for staff which make clear that a range of responses may be required to the issues presented to teams. The guidance is entitled `levels of intervention' and ensures that staff are clear, that practice is consistent and that resources are focused in the most effective way.

2.8 Actions to prevent abuse and support better outcomes in the long term for people who have experienced abuse

Through work with the Adult Services Department safeguarding service user forum, leaflets have been developed for wide distribution which are aimed at giving members of the public information about what constitutes abuse and how to keep themselves safe. An article highlighting a case study of financial abuse, will also be distributed to all homes in Hampshire, through the Hampshire Now Magazine in Autumn 2009.

In relation to prevention, the work carried out through the Adult Services Department PaCT (Partnership and Care Training) team (providing training to independent and voluntary sector staff) ensures learning and development in safeguarding across a range of sectors and agencies. In addition, Adult Services Department has put in place a Quality Outcomes and Contract Monitoring framework - described in more detail below - which contributes significantly to prevention. To support this process, the contracts we have in place with providers, require co-operation with the HCC Safeguarding Adults policy and procedures.

The Adult Services Department is committed to increasing the access of people to Family Group Conferencing. This innovative approach, commissioned through a voluntary sector organisation - Daybreak - works to enable the victim to make choices about the outcome of the safeguarding process which supports them in the way that they choose.

The Adult Services Department is also working with financial institutions to engage them in preventing and reporting financial abuse, which is the second most prevalent form of abuse nationally and locally.

However, the Department recognises the need to do more in this area and, in particular, develop a data set which focuses on service user outcomes. In order to do this, further work will be done with the safeguarding service users forum, supported by contact with Bolton City Council - who were rated as excellent by CSCI as a result of their safeguarding inspection - to find out if HCC can learn from their approach to this issue.

2.9 The best councils are demonstrating active leadership on safeguarding and building strong strategic partnerships locally

The Safeguarding Board provides strong evidence of partnership working and leadership at senior levels across organisation. Additionally, a Head of Safeguarding and Care Governance has been appointed with the aim of ensuring that the safeguarding and governance processes are working effectively to support day to day business as well as the transition of services to deliver the Hampshire model.

2.10 A correlation between the performance of councils and of regulated services in respect of safeguarding arrangements

Adult Services Department has put in place a Quality Outcome and Contract Monitoring framework which seeks to gather all the information available about commissioned regulated services both in-house and independent sector and, through use of Quality Improvement Officers, work with failing organisations to improve the quality of the service provided. This process both supports the service users who are receiving a failing service and also ensures that HCC meet our obligations to quality assure commissioned services. It is linked closely with safeguarding and clear timescales are put in place to ensure that action is taken with any provider who does not make the required improvements.

2.11 The Adult Services Department is currently undertaking a full baseline audit of the safeguarding process ahead of a CQC safeguarding inspection, which is anticipated in late 2009 or early 2010. The audit will provide all the information we need in order to target any improvements that may be required.

2.12 Finally, a major strand of work within safeguarding for the latter part of 2009/10 will be to ensure that safeguarding is embedded into all operating procedures which relate to the move to personalisation and the delivery of the Hampshire model. Work is currently underway to develop a set of principles which will underpin the delivery of self directed support, currently in operation in Basingstoke.

3. Conclusions

3.1 In conclusion, Hampshire County Council Adult Services Department is currently undertaking a significant amount of work in the area of safeguarding adults to enhance both partnership working and service user outcomes. In order to develop effective approaches into the future, a baseline audit is in place to measure current performance so that efforts in relation to improvement can be targeted more effectively.

3.2 In addition, a further focus is in place to ensure that changes to deliver personalisation to service users have safeguarding embedded within them.

3.3 Finally, a refocusing of the CQC inspection and assessment regime is currently out to consultation and, coupled with the awaited Government response to the `No Secrets' guidance consultation, could result in some significant change to the adult safeguarding framework during the latter half of 2009/10. However, due to the investment made by the Department in both the safeguarding and broader governance structures, the Adult Services Department will be in a good position to enable a measured support to this potential change.

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. The approach taken is to offer services equally to all - leaflets are produced on request for those with a sensory impairment as well as those for whom English is not a first language.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. Effective safeguarding impacts on both the community safety and the domestic abuse agendas. A member of Victim Support sits on the Safeguarding Adults multi-agency Board and both the Police and other emergency services are represented on a sub-group of the Board. Joint work is underway with those leading on domestic violence to ensure that the safeguarding agenda is run in parallel and adult safeguarding will form part of the

3. Climate Change:

3.1. How does what is being proposed impact on our carbon footprint / energy consumption?

At present, there is no impact on HCC carbon footprint or energy consumption.

a) How does what is being proposed consider the need to adapt to climate change, and be resilient to its longer term impacts?

There is no impact on the need to adapt to climate change.