Business Plan (2022 - 2023)

Contents

1. Groups
2. Hidden harm
3. Care homes

In addition to the priorities identified for this year the Board will continue to operate business as usual to improve safeguarding of adults with care and support needs and meet its statutory obligations as follows:

Groups

1. Review group: Carry out Safeguarding Adults Reviews and disseminate learning from these to identify and implement improvement to partnership approaches to safeguarding adults safeguarding adults.

Specific additional deliverables for 2022-2023: Pilot Rapid Review scoping approach for SARs.

2. Procedures group: Review and develop multi-agency safeguarding adults procedures to support effective safeguarding responses.

3. Audit group: Carry out multi-agency case audits to gain assurance regarding practice and identify opportunities for improvement in adult safeguarding.

4. Training group: Seek assurance regarding each agencies safeguarding adults training provision. Assess additional multi-agency training needs and co-ordinate and oversee delivery regarding these.

Specific additional deliverables for 2022-2023: Review the current training strategy to cover Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland. Work with the Local Implementation Network (LIN) re: Liberty Protection Safeguards.

5. Performance group: Maintain an overview of multi-agency performance and assurance regarding safeguarding adults.

Specific additional deliverables for 2022-2023: Agreement of performance framework.

6. Engagement group (Leicester SAB only): Strengthen user and carer engagement and raise awareness within our diverse communities in Leicester City.

Safeguarding adults board: Produce Annual Reports. Review and develop business plan. Explore specific areas of concern.

1. Hidden harm

Rationale

• Local and national SARs identify people “hidden in plain sight” as a recurring theme for improvement.
• We are concerned that that during Covid-19 services have less physical contact with and ‘eyes on’ people to fully understand their needs and circumstances, in addition some informal care arrangements that support safeguarding of individuals may not be functioning as they were with restrictions in place.
• Specific areas of concern include self-neglect and individuals with mental ill-health and/or learning disabilities, and individuals from black and other diverse backgrounds.

Focus will be on community culture shift across practitioners and public to: Help people to: a) see concerns b) have confidence to want to respond and c) respond.

What will success look like?

• The SAB has a clearer understanding of the extent and nature of hidden harm
• Prevention of escalation of harm
• An increase in reports of certain types of harm and from certain groups, based upon our understanding of hidden harm
• The SAB has assurance that the partnership approach responds quickly and appropriately to harm reported.

Key deliverables

1. Analysis that outlines the nature and extent of hidden harm relating to Safeguarding Adults in Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland

Lead: Performance Group, Engagement Group

Activity and timescales:

• Engagement Group (L)/Engagement Activity (L&R) to feed information on hidden harm into performance group: October 2022
• Collate information from across subgroups and partnerships on hidden harm, including analysis of insights project, alerts and community concerns: January 2023
• Take part in DA research project and receive report: September 2022

2. Plan in place to respond to the learning identified regarding hidden harm

Lead: SAB

Activity and timescales:

• Review learning from analysis and amend business plan with key activities to address learning identifying what is require for different groups: March 2023

3. Training and campaigns for managers to enable effective safeguarding - encourage professional curiosity, escalation and advocacy, including ‘Was not brought’

Lead: Training Group and Task and Finish group as required

Other partnerships involved: Safeguarding Children Partnerships

Activity and timescales:

• Identify key messages regarding good practice and routes for communications: September 2022
• Develop or commission training for managers around supporting professional curiosity in staff and knowledge of local escalation policy: July 2022
• Plan and deliver promotion with professionals through partners: December 2022

4. Assurance that safeguarding processes are minimising risk of hidden harm

Lead: Audit Group

Other partnerships involved: Transforming Care Partnership

Activity and timescales:

• Follow up Multi-agency audit regarding strategy meetings in new financial year as required: January 2023

5. Systems developed to support safeguarding of these with learning disabilities

Lead: Business Offices

Other partnerships involved: LeDeR, Transforming Care Partnership.

Activity and timescales:

• Survey of practitioners regarding barriers to working to safeguarding those with learning disabilities: October 2022
• Communications campaign to promote good safeguarding of those with learning disabilities: March 2023

6. Transitional Safeguarding approach in place

Lead: SAB/Task and Finish Group

Other partnerships involved: SCPs, Adolescence Safety & Diversion Board

Activity and timescales:

• Understand full range of transition pathways: August 2022
• Seek assurance re: safeguarding in less-developed pathways: March 2023

7. Multi-agency safeguarding and the work of the SAB is becoming anti-racist and more inclusive

Lead: Business Offices

Other partnerships involved: Healthwatch

Activity and timescales:

• Collate and review information from across partners regarding work with individuals from diverse backgrounds: November 2022
• Review SAB procedures and working processes to ensure they support anti-racism and inclusion: March 2023

2. Care homes

Rationale

• A number of issues in care homes regarding quality of care and safeguarding have become apparent during Covid lockdowns with increase in safeguarding alerts relating to care homes and care homes closing.
• Closure of care homes and lack of capacity in the system increases risk around safeguarding.
• As care homes open up for visitors more people are seeing those in care homes, and therefore potential for more concerns to be raised.

What will success look like?

• Approach in place to prevent escalation of harm
• Indicators of concern regarding Care Homes and safeguarding are identified and responded to sooner
• Fewer incidences of significant harm in care home settings

Key deliverables

1. Clear view of learning regarding care homes and impact on safeguarding of recent care home closures in particular

Lead: Performance Group

Other partnerships involved: (MAIP/Contracts teams, CQC), LSCDG

Activity and timescales:

• Collate intelligence regarding safeguarding in care homes and recent events including: Analysis of concerns data, information from CQC, findings from SARs, Local Authority reports and criminal investigations regarding Care homes: September 2022
• Seek assurance that care homes understand and respond to care staff welfare to support effective safeguarding: September 2022
• Identify action for the SAB to support prevention in future in relation to care homes: March 2023

2. The SAB is supporting safeguarding in Care homes appropriately

Lead: Procedures Group and Training Subgroup

Other partnerships involved: LSCDG and Contracts teams

Activity and timescales:

• Review escalation procedures in line with NICE guidance on safeguarding in Care homes: June 2022
• Finalise SAB support document to send out to care homes: June 2022