Agenda item

Report of the Safeguarding Adults Board

The Board considered a briefing note on the Annual Report of the Coventry Safeguarding Adults Board 2018/19.  A copy of the Annual Report was set out at an Appendix to the briefing note. 

The Coventry Safeguarding Adults Board was a multi-agency partnership made up of a range of organisations that contribute towards safeguarding in Coventry.  The Safeguarding Adults Board was a statutory requirement under the Care Act.  The Safeguarding Adults Board was required to publish an annual report and business plan which enabled the Board to plan upcoming work.  The business plan was also included in the annual report.  In addition, the annual report included the performance data for the year which was monitored on a quarterly basis at full Safeguarding Adults Board meetings.  The annual report was a key way of raising awareness of the issue of safeguarding adults.

The report indicated that the Council carries out approximately 300 safeguarding enquiries as a result of concerns.  Concerns come from a variety of sources including professionals, the person themselves, and from family and friends of those who may be in need of care and support to keep themselves well and safe. 

The 2018/19 referral rate showed no statistically significant peaks and troughs throughout the year but was, overall, slightly higher than the previous year.  Roughly 15% of received referrals went on to become enquiries, slightly down from 17% in 2017.  Approximately 83% of referrals across the year were processed within 2 days.  The main category of abuse for adults in Coventry was neglect, with physical and financial abuse the second and third most prevalent categories.  Throughout the year, 10% of referrals were individuals already known to the Council.  In 91% of the cases, the risk to the individual was either reduced or completely removed by the end of their safeguarding enquiry.  In 7% of cases the risk was judged to remain and this related to adults with capacity making decisions that are risky for them but within their remit to make.  Making safeguarding personal had been a key focus for Coventry partners across the year and formed the basis of the adult Board’s development day in March 2019.  During 2018/19, the wishes of service users were either achieved or partially achieved in the majority of cases.

In conclusion, work with adults with care and support needs across Coventry in 2018/19 has been person centred and high achieving, as evidenced by the number of users who say that their desired outcomes from the safeguarding process were met.

The Board questioned the officers on a number of issues and responses were provided.  Matters raised included:

·  Child Sexual Exploitation – role of the Safeguarding Adults Board in relation to this and why this issue may not have been dealt with purely by the Safeguarding Childrens Board.

·  Joint working between the Safeguarding Adults and Childrens Boards.

·  The new Chair of the Safeguarding Adults Board also being Chair of the Safeguarding Childrens Board and the benefits of this in relation to cross cutting issues.

·  Whether Citizen (previously Whitefriars Housing) and other housing associations have updated their domestic abuse policies and cascaded them to staff, in the same way that the Fire Service have.

·  Comparative referral rates.

·  Whether there are ever cases that can’t be investigated.

In considering the report, the Board noted that Joan Beck had stepped down as Chair of the Safeguarding Adults Board, which would now be Chaired by Derek Benson.  The Board requested that a letter be sent to Joan setting out the Scrutiny Board’s thanks for her Chairmanship of the Adults Safeguarding Board.

RESOLVED that the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5):-

1.  Note the contents of the report and indicate that they have no comments they wished to make to the Chair of the Safeguarding Board in fulfilling its assurance role of the effectiveness of safeguarding for adults in Coventry.

2.  Request that a letter be sent to Joan Beck setting out the Scrutiny Board’s thanks for her Chairmanship of the Adult Safeguarding Board.