Issue 31 | April 2024
Welcome to the April edition of Pass It On News.
A bi-monthly newsletter bringing you the headlines and new policies, procedures and guidance from your West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board.
In this newsletter
In March the Board met for the final time in the 2023/24 year, for an in-person event. The agenda for the meeting included the following:
- a case study from Independent Lives
- an update from the Safeguarding Referrals Task and Finish Group
- a deep-dive from the Learning and Policy subgroup
- reports from the Chairs of the subgroups
- an update from Sussex Police and the Integrated Care Board on Right Person Right Care
- a presentation on a Thematic Safeguarding Adult Review on self-neglect
The Board will next meet in June 2024.
|
As we are now into the new financial year, and have agreed our Board priorities for 2024/25, we have published the new Three Year Strategy and Annual Business Plan.
Thank you to the Board partners for all of your support in the development of this document.
Key documents:
 Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, and West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Boards are pleased to announce that we will soon be launching a NEW Sussex Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures website.
Annie Callanan, Independent Chair of the West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board, and
Seona Douglas, Independent Chair of the Brighton & Hove and East Sussex Safeguarding
Adults Boards, said: “The new website will provide easier access to the guidance and
expectations in line with our statutory safeguarding responsibilities. This information informs
and helps safeguarding practice to be consistent and current and in doing so, best supports
adults who are experiencing or at risk of abuse and/or neglect, which we’re aware is a
shared ambition across the partnerships”.
For more information:
We are pleased to share that our Pan-Sussex Safeguarding Policies and Procedures now has a new section on Multi-Agency Working (section 1.1.3). This section sets out the expectations for multi-agency working when safeguarding adults.
The section is needed given our Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) across Sussex identify a need to improve on our practice approach to multi-agency working. We are hoping this new section will better support you to understand and work in collaboration with others when safeguarding adults.
Multi-agency working refers to a way of working that involves professionals from different agencies collaboratively combining their skills, expertise and knowledge, with the joint goal of meeting an adult’s needs, including multiple and compound needs. Good communication, common goals, understanding and teamwork is essential for effective multi-agency working.
We hope that you find this new section useful and informative, and ask you to promote this widely within your organisations please, to help contribute to improvements in multi-agency working across the partnership, and a better safeguarding experience for adults experiencing abuse and/or neglect.
Key documents:
Supporting documents:
|
In February, we published the Safeguarding Adult Review in relation to Clare. Clare is 43 years-old and was born in Littlehampton with DiGeorge syndrome; a genetic condition that causes the underdevelopment of some systems in the body. Autism can also be associated with this syndrome, which was diagnosed in 2004. Her father, who contributed to the Review, described Clare as a quiet child with few friends, who was sadly bullied at school due to her disability. Clare also has a history of mental health concerns, including auditory hallucinations. Clare has lived in supported housing from around the age of 20, but at the time this Review was written, she was unwell and in hospital.
From February 2022, Clare began to express concerns about her mobility, due to long standing knee pain. Clare expressed that voices were telling her that her knee would break if she moved, which resulted in her remaining seated on her sofa for at least two weeks, leading to rapidly worsening hygiene circumstances. A Mental Health Act Assessment led to Clare’s admission to hospital. It was acknowledged that there were missed opportunities over many months for a robust multi-agency risk management meeting, to coordinate a comprehensive, personalised and holistic risk management plan to support Clare.
Please do read, and share, this Review and associated learning materials, within your organisations, so that learning can be cascaded and embedded.
Key documents:
In September 2023, the Quality and Performance subgroup carried out a multi-agency case file audit on the safeguarding of older people. The audit looked at the cases of ten older adults who had been involved in a safeguarding enquiry, and had had involvement with multiple services. Agencies involved with the adults RAG-rated their performance in a number of areas, including Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP).
It was identified that MSP was an area that needed improvement across the organisations, with the number of Red and Amber responses outweighing the number of Green responses. This included improvement being needed at seeking feedback from the individual, or their families, about the safeguarding process after the conclusion of the safeguarding enquiry.
The Safeguarding Adults Board has some existing resources on the topics of MSP and person-centred approaches. We would encourage you to utilise these resources and share them across your organisations, to help ensure that we are providing an outcome-focused and person-centred approach for vulnerable adults across West Sussex.
Key documents:
|
We're aware that, with a lot of information available on our website, it can sometimes be difficult to find exactly what you're looking for. To support you in navigating our website, if you are looking for something very specific, you can now access our A-Z directory of key topics covered on our website.
Access the A-Z directory via the link at the top of our website, or:
|
|
