I am pleased to introduce the annual report of the Plymouth Safeguarding Adults Partnership which covers the period April 2023 to March 2024.
This report recognises our progress and achievements, highlights our challenges and provides updates on our work to address our strategic priorities of prevention, engagement, learning and assurance. Due to the hard work of organisations that support the PSAP and the endeavours of a dedicated team of staff progressive improvements have been made against these priorities, delivered through a planned programme of work linked to our business plan, ensuring that we continue to meet our statutory duties. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all agencies and staff for their commitment to working together in order to keep people safe in these difficult times.
The report outlines how we have strengthened our approach to engagement work across community networks in Plymouth using the experience of National Safeguarding Adults Week in 2023 as a catalyst to explore how to access community organisations and raise the profile of safeguarding practice. This work has also ensured we continue to seek feedback on the lived experience of individuals that have been through the safeguarding process a continued focus of our work over the next 12 months.
The PSAP has supported partners in offering training and access to multi-agency safeguarding resources and leads learning and improvements through the statutory Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) process. The Partnership must carry out these reviews when an adult with care and support needs has died or suffered serious harm and its known or suspected that the cause was abuse or neglect (including self-neglect) and there are concerns that agencies could have worked better to protect the adult. Details of the SARs published over the last year are included in the report. This process is often challenging and complex as it seeks to identify and tackle barriers to good practice and protect adults from future harm. It can be extremely difficult and distressing for the families to navigate their way through the stages of a review which often informs the coroner’s inquest. We continue to strive for ways to improve how we manage SARs and work in support of families.
We also continue to build on our approach to seeking assurance from partner agencies on their safeguarding arrangements and I am grateful to them for sharing their successes and challenges with the board. This has helped to ensure that we learn from one another; build on good practice as well as understanding any risks along with mitigating actions.
As we entered a new reporting year (2024-2025) I was keen to drive forward two pieces of work to better position the PSAP for its future activity. Firstly, the Partnership commissioned an independent audit on how we deliver equality, diversity and inclusion with our safeguarding services in Plymouth. The Partnership are determined to ensure that our policies and practices are genuinely inclusive, routinely accessing and responding to the safeguarding needs of diverse communities. Secondly, the PSAP arranged for a peer review of our current practices, providing an external, independent expert to identify what’s working well and what needs to improve with our work. The report findings will be adopted to ensure there is the sufficient capacity and the working arrangements can be sustained.
I look forward to working with the PSAP safeguarding team and board members to drive forward these areas of work as well as our priorities, to ensure the safeguarding arrangements in Plymouth remain robust, effective and of the highest quality.
Andrew Bickley
Independent Chair, Plymouth Safeguarding Adults Partnership