Agenda item

This is the fourth Annual Report of the Safeguarding Adult Executive Board (SAEB). The multi-agency Board provides leadership of adult safeguarding across the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham; the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; and the City of Westminster.

Councillor Vaughan welcomed Mike Howard, Chair of the Safeguarding Adults Executive Board (SAEB), and Helen Banham, Strategic Lead Professional Standards and Safeguarding Officer.   This was the fourth Annual Report and a key question was whether work of the SAEB had made a tangible difference to the quality of life experienced by people.  The report contained many examples of cases, illustrating how changes had been made and implemented.  It was encouraging to see the number of agencies who had contributed to the annual report, the value of their individual contributions, and the support provided that underpinned the work of the SAEB.

Two key highlights included work with the Community Champions project, on both physical and financial abuse.  The Community Champions were invaluable, and positioned at the heart of the community, they sometimes faced challenging conflicts, talking to friends and neighbours.  Work on hoarding was also highlighted, emphasising the need for an empathetic approach and the value of joint learnings achieved through frequent group meetings. 

In response to questions from Cllr Brown, it was explained that the disaggregation of services and the impact of the Moving On initiative were not included in the report, as this had arisen outside the period covered the period up March 2017.  It was confirmed that the Board in its current form would continue until June 2018.  Lisa Redfern, Director for Adult Social Services, confirmed that preparations were being made to ensure that LBHF would have its own SAEB, from June 2018.

Helen Banham responded to a query from Patrick McVeigh with regards to the Deprivation of Liberty (DoLs) reports and the new system in place.  Most people in nursing care homes were deprived of liberty and in cases where there was confusion or conflict about a placement, these would be reviewed as a priority.  There were approximately three per year and arose from those that were not well-placed.  It was suggested that it would be helpful to have DoLs statistics reported as an appendix to the Annual Report.

Patrick McVeigh asked which agency should be contacted, in a case which fell in the remit of both mental health and trading standards colleagues.  Helen Banham explained that there were few trading standards officers, with a large volume of work and few resources.  They had worked with housing organisations, such as Catalyst, to find ways in which this could be addressed, concurring that more need to be done and the difficulties of working with limited resources.  A recent case highlighted the plight of a lady who had unfortunately died, following a fire in her home caused by a burning candle and large volumes of newspapers. 

Jim Grealy welcomed the report which observed had well-sourced case studies.  He commented that a key role of a GP was to listen and identify signs and suggested that this be highlighted to the CCG and that they be invited to provide and update on this and delayed, unsupported discharges.  Mike Howard referred to page 17 of the Annual Report and the significant progress made by the Board on this issue.  He recognised the vital role of GPs in addressing loneliness and the challenge of working with a range of organisations to raise awareness.  Commenting on unsafe discharges, he explained that they received service level reports from NHS trusts (historically, Chelsea and West Middlesex  and Royal Brompton hospitals), so that they were aware of the remit and work of the SAEB.  Councillor Coleman added that the Health and Wellbeing Board would be considering this issue, focusing on social isolation and loneliness.  Lisa Redfern commented that there was huge and increasing pressure on the NHS and ASC to address the issue of unsupported discharges. 

Bryan Naylor commented that social isolation and loneliness was a huge concern, particularly for older people, in addition to the problem of unsupported or premature discharges, and called for more frequent or accurate reviews.  Mike Howard responded that this was matter of resourcing and capacity, referring to the example of engagement events on hoarding and neglect which required considerable preparation.  Acknowledging the value of such events and taking a multi-agency approach led by the local authorities, they had worked closely with organisations such as MIND and Genesis housing.  Lisa Redfern observed that of those supported by ASC, two out of three were older people.  LBHF had recently launched a resident led, Older Peoples Commission, which would be corporately supported and resourced.

Responding to a query from Councillor Umeh regarding the referral process, Mike Howard referred to a chart provided in the Annual Report.  It was important to note that cases of abuse frequently originated from family members, leading to difficulties in bringing successful prosecutions.  Expanding his response, he explained that his role as Chair of the SAEB was to challenge agencies, working to achieve prevention of harm to the individual, together with the right outcome, that they desire.

A member of the public highlighted concerns regarding the monitoring of individuals, ensuring that they took care of their personal needs and medication, citing the lack of co-ordination between agencies.   Helen Banham acknowledged that there was a dilemma regarding the speed at which the SAEB operated and the co-ordination of all safeguarding champions and a significant responsibility to learn from SAEB’s own work, emphasising the importance strong collaboration. 

Councillor Vaughan commended the work undertaken to improve the Annual Report.  Councillor Vaughan thanked Mike Howard for his work as Chair of the SAEB, recognising that this would end in June 2018.  He also commended Helen Banham, for her invaluable expertise, support and commitment, and wished her well for her forthcoming retirement.

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted the report SAEB Annual Report 2016-17