Agenda item

Slough Safeguarding Adult Board (SSAB) Annual Report

Minutes:

The Slough Safeguarding Adults Board (SSAB) Chair, Nick Georgiou, and Safeguarding Partnerships Manager, Betty Lynch, presented the Annual Report for 2017/18.

 

It was a statutory requirement to produce an annual report and the format had been streamlined to be more accessible by focusing on key issues and highlights.  The key points of the presentation are summarised as follows:

 

·  The progress in aligning the procedures and approach between the independent adult and children’s safeguarding board was outlined.  Mr Georgiou chaired both boards and they were administered by a single business unit.

·  Progress was noted on the key objectives including the identification and management of risk.  There had been a reduction in the number of safeguarding concerns received with 695 in 2017/18 compared to 989 in the previous year.  The principle reason was stated as being a greater understanding of safeguarding amongst partner organisations.

·  The most common type of abuse was neglect (41%) followed by physical abuse (24%) and financial abuse (15%).  Members noted some inconsistencies in the figures in the narrative and chart in the annual report (page 49 of the agenda).

·  The main focus of the work was in reducing risk where a concern was identified and this was the outcome in 81% of cases in 2017/18.

·  Slough performance in providing advocacy support for those who lacked mental capacity had improved on the previous year and was better than the national average.

·  It was a priority to make safeguarding personal to help people achieve their desired outcome from a safeguarding enquiry and this work was being embedded.

·  The priorities for 2018/19 included recruiting to the business support team, establishing a quality assurance sub-group and working with the joint safeguarding executive to improve the communications strategy and planning.

 

The Panel discussed the different types of reported abuse and it was stated that the overall pattern was broadly in line with previous years.  The Panel requested further detail on the outcomes of concern/enquiries; the types of physical abuse reported and any relevant comparative data with previous years for types of abuse.  Information about how to report safeguarding concerns was clearly set out at the beginning of the annual report (page 42 of the agenda).  Councillors were asked to raise any concerns or issues about individual cases outside of the meeting and through appropriate channels to ensure they could be properly followed up.

 

It was recognised that in some cases vulnerable people did not accept the support offered and it could not be imposed unless their mental capacity was impaired.  Assessments on mental capacity were not fixed and could be undertaken at different times people came to the attention of services.  Assurance was provided that cases were properly documented and people were advised of the risks and consequences of refusing support.  Information was also shared amongst professionals where appropriate.  The issues of neglect and self neglect were discussed and Mr Georgiou explained the next steps to be taken including the establishment of a co-ordination group to work on early help for vulnerable adults.

 

It was noted that the recorded figure for the number of carers in Slough, 11,626 (14% of the population), was probably in line with similar places to Slough but was likely to be significantly underreported.  A Member asked about the work being done to reduce neglect by carers and it was responded that formal carers were regulated and a significant amount of work was done with agencies and providers to improve the quality of the workforce in part to tackle neglect.  However, it was harder to tackle neglect carried out by informal carers outside of service settings.

 

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Chair thanked Mr Georgiou and Ms Lynch for presenting the annual report which was noted.

 

Resolved –  That details of the Slough Safeguarding Adult Board Annual Report be noted.

 

(Councillor Sandhu left the meeting.)

 

(Councillor Smith in the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.)

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