Agenda item

To receive a report which provides Members with an update on Adult Safeguarding in Kent for the period April to September 2017.

1.    Michael Thomas-Sam (Head of Strategy and Business Support) introduced the report which provided an update on Adult Safeguarding in Kent for the period April to September 2017.

a)    In response to a question, Annie Ho (Acting Head of Adult Safeguarding) discussed the importance of training and said that Adult Safeguarding training procedures were updated regularly to ensure that staff were well-supported.

b)    In response to a question regarding the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS), Annie Ho said that the DOLS safeguard very vulnerable people. She said that although there may be cases where vulnerable people were being deprived of their liberty in an unlawful way, the issue could not be resolved by social care staff alone, the ownership needed to be shared. She reiterated the fact that training was crucial for staff who were safeguarding vulnerable adults and said that all providers should know and apply for DOLS.

c)    In response to a question, Penny Southern (Director of Disabled Children, Learning Disability and Mental Health) said that there was no correlation between the primary support reasons and the sources of concern in the report. She said that she would be able to provide further information in a briefing note outside of the Committee meeting. Annie Ho said that within Mental Health, the most common type of abuse was Domestic. She said that from September 2017, Kent Police had introduced a specific unit that would deal with domestic abuse issues, so the referral source did not correlate to a specific service user group. However, there were issues that different organisations were responding to. She said that Kent Police were looking at focusing on increasing services for better Mental Health.

d)    In response to a question relating to types of abuse and the locations in which the abuse took place, Annie Ho said that the types of abuse were wide in terms of what would be classified as abuse. She referred to the report and informed the Committee that several cases that were classified as abuse were relating to neglect or tasks that had not been completed promptly enough. She said that she would be able to provide further information in a briefing note outside of the Committee meeting.

e)    In response to a question, Annie Ho said that the percentage relating to ‘other’ and ‘unknown’ types of abuse was a percentage that needed to be reduced and looked at and analysed further. She said that issues reported as ‘unknown’ were reported as data quality issues, and issues that were reported as ‘other’ could be anything outside of the other fields. Penny Southern said that the user usually chose ‘other’ when they did not fit into the other fields that were provided.

f)     In response to a question regarding the risk of safety to people with mental health illnesses, Annie Ho said that whilst she appreciated the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues, the report and the Adult Safeguarding unit could only assess adult safeguarding practice, not the wider multi-agency practice within mental health. Penny Southern said that she represented the Local Authority in the Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat where good practice and outcomes were assessed, and feedback was taken onboard. She said that there was a lot of work being undertaken in Kent to support a person in crisis. Ms Marsh who was the Mental Health Champion had visited the previous Crisis Care Concordat and had worked with the team to grasp a wider understanding of the national agreement. She said that the Crisis Care Concordat focused on preventing future crises by making sure people are referred to the appropriate services and able to find employment. She said that she would be able to provide further information in a Members’ briefing, this was welcomed by the Committee.

g)    In response to a question regarding categories of abuse, Annie Ho said that the category of verbal abuse was considered in the report’s figures, as was physical abuse.

h)    In response to a question, Penny Southern said that the figures marked as ‘unknown’ within the report were currently classed as data quality issues but would be known at a later date. The figures marked as ‘other’ within the report were usually due to people not recognising that the other fields available were applicable to them. She said that the ‘unknown’ and ‘other’ fields were reviewed annually and were updated and changed each year as new terminology was introduced.

i)     In response to a question regarding the annual report release date, Michael Thomas-Sam said that this would be between May and June 2018 and would be available to all Members.

j)     In response to a question regarding training, Annie Ho said that training was available for families wishing to offer a home to older teenagers with challenging behaviours. The Kent and Medway Adult Safeguarding Board worked hard to continue to review accessible and available training across the county. Penny Southern said that all families received training as a requirement.

k)    In response to a question, Annie Ho said that a quarterly performance report was brought Adult Social Care Cabinet Committee meetings. The performance reports monitored correlation issues and surface areas. Penny Southern said that there was also a bi-monthly safeguarding performance meeting held within the Adult Safeguarding team. The safeguarding performance meetings assessed trends and issues in further detail. She said that the meetings were held to ensure appropriate action could be taken and to provide face to face support and training for staff to support them to deliver services. She said that in future reports, more information could be provided to show trends and correlation to provide Members with a deeper level of information.

2.    Mr Gibbens said that a Members’ briefing would be organised to discuss the report in the further detail. He also said that a Members’ visit to the referral unit in Kroner House, Ashford would be organised.

3.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.