SPECIAL EDITION
Two years on: what Tom has taught us
It's been two years since the Safeguarding Adults Board received the referral that ultimately led to the publication of our Safeguarding Adults Review in respect of Tom.
Since then, Tom has taught us so much about what we need to do better to reduce the risk of others suffering abuse and neglect at the hands of those who are meant to care for them. In this special edition newsletter, we'll take a look at what we've learned, and what Tom wants us to take away from his experience.
And if you would like to hear from Tom himself, please do watch the West Sussex Community Safety and Wellbeing Service training video | YouTube, featuring Tom.
"We need to find a way to look at individual circumstance and not fit it to a framework. One of the aspects of the coercion and control was the paternalism."
- Tom Somerset-How, In conversation with Tom Somerset-How (2024)
Paternalistic practice in safeguarding adults refers to an approach where staff make decisions for individuals, often with the belief that it is in their best interest, without involving or fully considering the person’s own preferences or autonomy. This can happen when staff assume that they know what is best for an individual, rather than supporting the person to make informed choices for themselves.
While it may be motivated by good intentions, paternalism can undermine an individual’s rights, autonomy, and dignity, potentially leading to disempowerment and feelings of helplessness. It is therefore important to reflect and check on how decisions are being made to ensure the adult is always involved in any decisions about them.
Following the recognition of paternalistic practice in Tom's experience, we updated our resource Person-Centred Approaches | Explore Series (PDF, 271KB) to include more information about it, as well as protected characteristics and anti-discriminatory practice.
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"Organisations need to be professionally curious. Because the social worker individually could be, but if the whole system doesn’t have the resources or the time available, that’s when the failure begins."
- Tom Somerset-How, In conversation with Tom Somerset-How (2024)
The term concerned curiosity, sometimes called respectful nosiness or professional curiosity, is used to describe an in-depth interest in the adults you are working with by exploring and understanding what is happening or, may be happening, rather than making assumptions or accepting things at face value.
It requires skills of looking, listening, asking direct questions, and being able to hold difficult conversations. Nurturing concerned curiosity and challenge are a fundamental aspect of working together to keep adults safe from harm.
We've updated our resource Concerned Curiosity | Explore Series (PDF, 194KB) to include reference to the importance of speaking with adults in private. This will provide them with a space where they are more likely to feel able to disclose abuse or neglect without repercussions from the perpetrators.
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"The agencies’ only point of contact was my wife. They wouldn’t talk to me. Even with reviews, as long as they got information from her. She would just say, “everything is good, couldn’t be happier”."
- Tom Somerset-How, In conversation with Tom Somerset-How (2024)
In the review it was recognised that Tom’s wife and paid carer exhibited ‘disguised compliance’, which created a significant barrier for staff. But what is ‘disguised compliance’?
The reviewer describes it as “where a family member or carer gives the appearance of cooperating with professionals to avoid raising suspicions, to allay professional concerns and ultimately to reduce professional involvement” (2024, page 22). In Tom’s case, this ‘disguised compliance’ was hiding a level of coercion and control, which led to both his wife and paid carer being found guilty of holding a person in slavery/servitude and jailed for eight years with a further three on licence; the first case of its kind in the UK.
In response to this finding, we developed our learning resource Understanding Disguised Compliance | Explore Series (PDF, 193KB).
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"They wouldn’t even let people come in to repair the hoist. The hoist company should notice that appointments were scheduled, and about three assessments had been missed. That somehow should flag on the system, and somebody should realise that something isn’t right, rather than just accepting that everything is okay."
- Tom Somerset-How, In conversation with Tom Somerset-How (2024)
Nationally, we see time and again how abuse and neglect could have been identified sooner if organisations had more robust processes in place for sharing information, and escalating concerns.
In Sussex, the three Sussex Safeguarding Adults Boards have produced a Sussex Information Sharing Guide and Protocol (PDF, 614KB), which sets out how information between partner agencies of the Boards should be shared for the purposes of safeguarding adults. This document includes good practice guidance around record-keeping and information-sharing within safeguarding meetings and discussions. See also Information Sharing | Summary Guidance (PDF, 185KB)
The Boards have also developed the Sussex Safeguarding Escalation and Resolution Protocol (PDF, 214KB), which supports consistent and timely decision-making where there may be disagreements or issues arising between professionals and agencies in relation to adult safeguarding. The protocol includes guidance in relation to Mental Capacity issues and safeguarding, and has a streamlined escalation process that explicitly ensures relevant safeguarding leads are consulted at an appropriate point. See also Escalation and Resolution Protocol | Summary Guidance (PDF, 209KB)
 Please do read and share this newsletter, along with our other resources about Tom:
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