ESAB Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) Subgroup

Terms of reference

Purpose

The purpose of the Subgroup is to support the Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board to fulfil its remit of ensuring local safeguarding arrangements are effective and deliver the outcomes that people want.

The Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board Quality Assurance Framework will act as the mechanism by which the Board will hold local agencies to account for their safeguarding work, including prevention and early intervention. This will be achieved through the delivery of an Annual Work Plan developed in line with Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board strategic priorities and objectives, and through the production of regular reports and information as required to the Board.

The Subgroup has the delegated responsibility from the Safeguarding Adults Board to ensure the responsibilities are carried out in respect of Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SAR) and any other form of review and learning activities.

Key responsibilities

  1. To produce an Annual Work Plan in line with Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board strategic priorities and objectives set out in the Business Plan.
  2. To develop a range of tools and methodologies to support the implementation of the Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board Quality Assurance Framework.
  3. To ensure the activities of the Subgroup reflect and promote the principles of Making Safeguarding Personal and those outlined in the Government Statement on Safeguarding Adults (May 2013).
  4. To create and develop an audit tool and to collate findings in order to identify areas of generic learning to inform future planning and development.
  5. To formulate an annual audit programme and quarterly reporting dashboard informed by the Board Business Plan as well as findings from other monitoring activities including data from other agencies This will include commissioning multi-agency themed audits and case file audits.
  6. To undertake the activities relating to improving and evaluating practice.
  7. To identify themes, trends and gaps arising from monitoring activity and to make recommendations about where to target future work to gain greatest improvements.
  8. To advise the Board of approaches to gain user feedback in order to ensure that the voice of the service users informs, influences and shapes the development of services.
  9. To establish and oversee a process for confirming that lessons have been learned and that any recommendations about the way in which local agencies have worked together to safeguard adults at risk are implemented effectively and review the implementation regularly.
  10. To maintain a strategic overview of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards arrangements across organisations and in particular to ensure these are working effectively across health and social care and alongside the safeguarding adults processes.
  11. To liaise with other groups to ensure a joined up and consistent approach to the work undertaken. Wherever possible, to adopt a multi-agency approach within the area covered by the Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board including other London Safeguarding Adults Boards.

Specific responsibilities

  1. To ensure that the requirement to have a Safeguarding Adult Reviews protocol as set out in the Care Act 2014 and any subsequent amendments, additions and guidance are met.
  2. To ensure there is a clear process for commissioning and carrying out of Safeguarding Adult Reviews and other forms of review and learning activities within the London borough of Ealing.
  3. To ensure that there is fair consideration given to any cases referred for a Safeguarding Adult Review or other forms of learning review activities against the set criteria and to ensure that the appropriate level/type of review is carried out i.e., standard safeguarding adult review approach, systems learning methodology or smaller scale partnership review (for cases where safeguarding adult review criteria may not be met but lessons can be learned).
  4. To monitor delivery of local Safeguarding Adult Review Action Plans and Impact Analysis to ensure the implementation of these are assessed in terms of their impact on front line practice and outcomes for service users.
  5. To establish and oversee a process for confirming that lessons are learnt and that any recommendations about the way in which local agencies have worked together to safeguard adults at risk are implemented.
  6. To monitor key outcomes of national reviews and inquiries advising Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board of any learning arising which could be applied.

Membership

The Subgroup will be comprised of representatives from the following agencies:

  • Independent Chair
  • Metropolitan Police
  • Integrated Care Board (ICB)
  • Adult Social Care (ASC)
  • West London NHS Trust
  • London North West Healthcare Trust

The Subgroup may also identify any other organisation or individual to be a member.

The Subgroup may invite additional agencies or individuals as the need arises.

Chairing arrangements

The Chair will be appointed by the Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board
The Vice-Chair will be appointed by the SAR Subgroup.

Meetings

Meetings will be held bi-monthly and will be scheduled to take place in between Safeguarding Adults Board meetings. To be considered quorate, meetings must have representatives from at least 3 statutory agencies.

The meeting agenda and papers will be circulated 5 working days in advance of the meeting.

Safeguarding Adults Review Panel Membership

  • Safeguarding Adults Board Independent Chair
  • Safeguarding Adults Board Business Manager
  • ICB representative
  • Police representative
  • Adult Social Care representative

The Subgroup may also identify any other organisation or individual to be a member.

Safeguarding Adults Reviews and the Business Process

  1. Learning reviews will be undertaken in accordance with agreement from the Subgroup and follow guidance from the Safeguarding Adult Review Protocol. This protocol will be reviewed and updated to reflect current legislative and policy requirements as necessary and in consultation with partner agencies.
  2. Any organisation or professional that becomes aware of a case which may meet the criteria for a Safeguarding Adult Review should refer it directly to the chair of the Safeguarding Adults Board or via their organisation’s board representative using the Referral Form. The Safeguarding Adults Board Business Manager will be notified who in turn will notify the chairs of the Subgroups, the Director of Adults Social Services and the Head of Service.
  3. To inform the decision-making process, the Chair of the Board will initiate a scoping exercise by requesting sufficient information from each of the agencies known to have been involved with the person at risk at the time of the incident.
  4. A Safeguarding Adults Review Panel will review the information to establish whether or not the criteria for carrying out a Safeguarding Adult Review are met. If the criterion for a Safeguarding Adult Review is not met, the Safeguarding Adults Review Panel will consider if another form of review should be undertaken e.g., Multi-agency Partnership Review, Management Case Review, Reflective Workshop, multi-agency themed audit, etc. Decision making will be based on the presenting circumstances of the case and whether there is potential for multi-agency learning to improve the safeguarding system and practice locally a record of this decision will be made in line with the Safeguarding Adults Review Protocol 2017.
  5. As a minimum, the review panel will include representation from the core members of the SAR Subgroup e.g., Adult Social Care, the Police and the NHS ICB.
  6. The Safeguarding Adults Review Panel will provide the Safeguarding Adults Board with a report outlining the rationale for the decision taken as set out in the Safeguarding Adults Review Protocol 2017. This approach will ensure ownership of decision making and will improve governance and accountability regarding referrals.
  7. If the Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board requests that a Safeguarding Adult Review (or other type of learning review) is undertaken, the SAR Subgroup will be responsible for drawing up clear Terms of Reference and for establishing a review panel to oversee the process. The Terms of Reference will clearly identify what is and is not in scope for the review, what methodology the Independent Author should use, the timeframe for the review and the agreed costs.
  8. The Safeguarding Adults Review Panel will be responsible for identifying an Independent Author to collate, draft and finalise the report and produce an Executive Report. The Independent Author will also be required to present the findings of the review to the Subgroup.
  9. Meetings between the Independent Author held with organisations involved in any review will be called Multi-agency Review Meetings to distinguish them from other subgroup meetings. These will be scheduled in the Terms of Reference by the Board Business Manager.
  10. If a case also gives rise to concerns about how agencies have worked together to protect children, a referral to the Ealing Safeguarding Children’s Board will be made. The Subgroup will also consider if any other statutory review criteria may apply in the case in question (such as a Domestic Homicide Review, MAPPA Case Review or Mental Health Homicide Review) and will make a referral as appropriate.
  11. Where other statutory review processes and/or coronial proceedings run in parallel with the Safeguarding Adult Review, the Subgroup will be responsible for ensuring the interfaces between respective processes are managed appropriately and effectively.
  12. The SAR Subgroup will review the action plan and impact analysis generated by any agencies using a review to address recommendations and to monitor implementation of these.
  13. The Subgroup will ensure the Executive Report of any Safeguarding Adult Review is available and will ensure that wider communication is carried out by multi-agency partners where appropriate.
  14. The Subgroup will consider key themes arising from a Safeguarding Adults Review, Domestic Homicide Review or a Mental Health Homicide Review carried out in another local authority and will consider and disseminate key learning.

Reporting arrangements

The Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board members will be responsible for sharing the Safeguarding Adult Review report within their own organisations. They will also be responsible for ensuring that appropriate activities to share and facilitate earning have been put in place within their organisation.

The chair of the Subgroup will update the Board on the progress of a Safeguarding Adult Review. A further update on the implementation of agreed action plans in response to the findings of a Safeguarding Adult Review will be made subsequently to the Board by the Subgroup Chair 6 months after the action plans were agreed.

The Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board will ultimately be responsible for signing off the Safeguarding Adult Review process; it will be assisted by the SAR Subgroup in this task.

Prior to sign off, agencies involved in the Safeguarding Adult Review will be asked to provide an impact analysis and action plan report to the Subgroup to provide assurance that the changes and improvements identified have been applied in practice and that these have made a positive difference to the customers of the services.

The Subgroup will place the impact analysis and action plan on its forward plan to be reviewed 6 months after the Safeguarding Adults Review has been agreed by the board.

This approach also recognises that the Safeguarding Adult Review may be driving improvements in the wider system but that these need to be progressed on a business-as-usual basis.

Other learning

The SAR Subgroup will consider establishing a multi-agency adult practitioner forum which will meet regularly to provide ongoing programs of learning, enabling practitioners to discuss:

  • cases that demonstrate practice from which others can learn
  • ongoing cases (anonymized) that are presenting difficulty and where advice is sought
  • how to apply learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews, both local and those from other areas
  • the implications of findings from local case audits
  • the implications for their practice of any changes in legislation and guidance
  • research findings and their implications for practice

Issues to consider include:

  • how will the subgroup establish and support learning forums?
  • how many will be required to cover the geographical area of the Safeguarding Adults Board?
  • how often should they meet?
  • how will any costs, direct and indirect, be met?
  • how will they ensure the commitment of partner agencies so that the full range of appropriate practitioners attends the forums?
  • if issues arise from forum discussions which should come to the attention of the Safeguarding Adults Board, how will this be managed?

Governance structure

The SAR Subgroup will report directly into the London Borough of Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board.

Links to other groups

The Subgroup will have formal links to the following groups:

  • Business Subgroup
  • Safeguarding Adults Review Panel
  • Practitioners Forum
  • Providers Forum

The Subgroup will also have informal links to the following groups:

  • Health Group
  • SIG Group