I am pleased to introduce Plymouth Safeguarding Adults Partnership Annual Report for the period covering April 2019 to March 2020, another exceptionally busy year for the organisations involved with safeguarding work. Because this report covers up to the end of March 2020, there will be limited reference to the significant impact of the Covid19 pandemic (although it has slightly delayed the publication of this report) and the consequential impact on adults at risk of abuse or neglect. The response of agencies to these challenges will be the focus of next year’s report.
By way of an introduction, Plymouth Safeguarding Adults Partnership brings together a number of agencies that work within the city to ensure that there is a joined up and coherent response to the safeguarding of adults. Safeguarding means protecting an adult with care and support needs, to live safely and free from abuse or neglect, and requires working together to support people to make the right decisions about the risks they may face in their lives, as well as protecting those that may lack the mental capacity to make these decisions. The partnership of senior leaders that I chair must be assured that the system for safeguarding adults at risk of abuse or neglect is as strong and secure as it can be. Most importantly it must be a partnership that is open to learning and challenge, in order to constantly improve services and acknowledge failings where these arise.
An important part of this assurance comes from the learning and responses of organisations to Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs). These are statutory reviews which are undertaken when things have gone wrong, often in tragic circumstances. The reviews represent an opportunity for practitioners, managers and senior leaders to reflect on practice and deliver changes to improve inter agency communication, systems work, culture and leadership. They provide a detailed understanding of the context of serious events and the impact of decisions or omissions that may have occurred; crucially they offer insight and accountability for family members. We are constantly looking to improve the way we deliver these reviews, and how we ensure that learning is embedded, resulting in meaningful changes. This report contains information on one such case.
The report also sets out progress we’ve made in a number of areas of work including:
Our efforts to improve participation and engagement with adults at risk and their carers - harnessing their lived experience is key to ensuring adult safeguarding services continue to improve and reflect the needs of those requiring support. Healthwatch Plymouth’s contribution, in gathering the voice and experience of people who have been through the safeguarding process, has given us invaluable feedback. I look forward to this work informing new approaches to our engagement processes over the coming year.
We’ve made significant progress in many areas of our work as outlined in our Strategic Plan. The “Our year” section of this report outlines the progress we’ve made and the subsequent impact. I would like to thank the staff that work so hard in the Business Unit, the Chairs and members of sub-groups, and all members of the partnership for their dedication and commitment to meet our statutory requirements and quality standards.
Whilst there remains much work to be done, I am confident that we will continue to learn and improve our focus on outcomes, and offering challenge and support to agencies to deliver the very best services for the Plymouth community.
Andy Bickley
Independent Chair
Plymouth Safeguarding Adults Partnership