From Adult Protection to Safeguarding Adults
As lead manager for Safeguarding Adults, I moved CQC's judgment on Safeguarding in Coventry from 'Adequate' to 'Good' between 2008 and 2009 by
The Editorial stated:
Andrew's 'paper provides perspectives about the work required in order to produce the change from adult protection to safeguarding, which he argues persuasively is about more than just the use of language and consists of a number of distinct elements that need to be considered. Although the paper is written from the viewpoint of one local authority, it contains some helpful and insightful messages for many adult social care departments across the country.' Bridget Penhale Reader in Gerontology, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield
Before 2008 there was no performance management system specific to Safeguarding Work. Working with practitioners and people who have been subject to safeguarding, we developed indicators that
Of equal importance was the sea change achieved in the real involvement from Health Partners. All local health organisations appointed Safeguarding Coordinators and ensured they had a lead director for Safeguarding. The Director of Nursing at the PCT agreed to chair the newly formed Prevention sub-group. As an early tangible result, the group agreed that all grade 3 or 4 pressure ulcers for become safeguarding alerts and developed guidance for care and support staff in recognising and responding to concerns re skin integrity.
- introducing a Performance Management System
- improving participation from Partner Organisations
- Working with Social Work Teams to focus Safeguarding work on Outcomes for service users not on the process
- Developing a focus on prevention, including writing an article about Coventry's experience for the Journal for Adult Protection.
The Editorial stated:
Andrew's 'paper provides perspectives about the work required in order to produce the change from adult protection to safeguarding, which he argues persuasively is about more than just the use of language and consists of a number of distinct elements that need to be considered. Although the paper is written from the viewpoint of one local authority, it contains some helpful and insightful messages for many adult social care departments across the country.' Bridget Penhale Reader in Gerontology, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield
Before 2008 there was no performance management system specific to Safeguarding Work. Working with practitioners and people who have been subject to safeguarding, we developed indicators that
- ensured that the experience of people subject to safeguarding and the outcomes they want to achieve informed the whole process
- ensured that teams can monitor and progress chase investigations
- understand the data re numbers of referrals, the ethnicity data and how this compares with other local authorities
Of equal importance was the sea change achieved in the real involvement from Health Partners. All local health organisations appointed Safeguarding Coordinators and ensured they had a lead director for Safeguarding. The Director of Nursing at the PCT agreed to chair the newly formed Prevention sub-group. As an early tangible result, the group agreed that all grade 3 or 4 pressure ulcers for become safeguarding alerts and developed guidance for care and support staff in recognising and responding to concerns re skin integrity.
