Gateshead Safeguarding Adults Annual Report 2023/24

The Safeguarding Adults Board provided a wide range of learning and development activities during 2023/24, these sessions were linked to learning from SARs, themes from SG Adults week and the core multi-agency training programme.

Learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs)

The board continues to offer learning and development opportunities which reflect the learning from safeguarding adult reviews, this includes local and national cases. The board delivers multi-agency interactive workshops which allow practitioners to hear about cases which have been the subject of a review or inquiry and the learning from these. The sessions allow time for practitioners to reflect on the cases and to undertake group work to support their understanding of the key issues and the learning which can be drawn from the cases considering how different actions could have changed the outcomes for individuals.

The board also provides learning and development which covers specific areas of practice development where additional support is required for practitioners. During 2022/23 the board delivered:

an introduction to the Mental Capacity Act and Practical Application of the Mental Capacity Act

• self-neglect
• mate crime
• fire safety
• professional curiosity

Trauma Informed Practice and Professional Curiosity

As part of our objective to support trauma informed practice the Safeguarding Adults Board welcomed Lads like Us, Danny and Mike back to Gateshead January 2024. Sharing their lived experience as children and adults trying to navigate the care system, adult social care, mental health services, drug and alcohol services amongst dealings with the police and a prison sentence. The honest and sometimes shocking accounts provided by Danny and Mike, are interlaced with humour and a sense that something good must come from their experiences. With 84 practitioners from 20 agencies in attendance from across Gateshead the session was well received, and the feedback was positive showing how practitioners will aim to improve practice following the session.

The importance of professional curiosity and asking why.

Brilliant session, personal experience and humorous training.

It reminded me to challenge the blaming language that is often used.

Toxic Stress: The Road to Poor Outcomes

We also invited Andi Brierley to present to practitioners during 2022/ 23 his session Toxic Stress: the Road to a Poor Outcome, was an insightful session which helped practitioners to understand how children who experience stress in childhood, from family breakdowns, domestic abuse and abuse can go on to be dysfunctional adults. The session based on Andi's own experiences was a powerful reminder of the damage which can be done and the effects of childhood trauma and as adult practitioners we should always consider what has happened to this person in their past.

The language and understanding of language and relationships. I'm going to change engagement to connecting.

People's bad past experiences don't define them, and the door is always open to get things right.

 This session was so helpful in thinking about stress instead of Trauma, because we all know what stress feels like.

 

During 2023/ 24 the Safeguarding Adults Board Business Unit developed, delivered and commissioned some training to enhance the multi-agency core offer.

Understanding Safeguarding

Following the development of the Understanding Safeguarding Guidance the Safeguarding Adults Board Business Manager supported by representatives from the Local Authority Safeguarding Team delivered a series of short briefing sessions to introduce the guidance. The sessions aimed to provide an overview of the informal and formal responses to safeguarding adults in Gateshead. The development of the Understanding Safeguarding sessions was in response to the high number of inappropriate safeguarding concerns received by the local authority safeguarding team. The need to raise awareness of the statutory safeguarding criteria and to ensure practitioners are aware of their responsibilities to safeguard the individuals they work with was a key focus of the sessions.

Safeguarding in the Real World

The Safeguarding Adults Board worked with Handcrafted a charity based in Gateshead provide training, holistic support and supported housing across Gateshead to provide three training sessions.

The Safeguarding in the real-world session aimed to give practitioners the opportunity to talk about how safeguarding works in practice and to explore some of the dilemmas they face on a daily basis. Gaining first hand advice and guidance from a member of the safeguarding team to improve their knowledge and practice in safeguarding.

Professional Curiosity

Professional curiosity is often highlighted in SARs as an area of development for practitioners. In light of this the board commissioned a session which focussed on supporting practitioners to develop skill sin professional curiosity, gathering the information and gaining the full pictures, recognising disguised compliance and challenging decision making.

Training delivered by the SG Business Unit Training for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector

The Safeguarding Adults Board recognised the need to increase the knowledge and understanding of safeguarding in the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector following the completion of the Thomas safeguarding adult review and the Henry local learning review.

The Thomas SAR recognised the response from the locality hubs in supporting Thomas during the last few months of his life, whilst for Henry who was not known to statutory services community, voluntary and non statutory services had provided him with a huge amount of support over approximately 14 years before his death.

The Safeguarding Adults Board and Gateshead Safeguarding Children's Partnership Business Managers worked with locality co-ordinators to develop a sessions which met the specific needs of the VCSE sector, including the role of trustees and working with the charities commission with the first session due to be delivered in April 2024.

Core training 

The Gateshead Council Workforce Development Adviser worked with the Safeguarding Adults Board, Gateshead Safeguarding Children's Partnership (GCSP) and the Community Safety Partnership to produce a comprehensive training offer for 2023/24. Training courses advertised within the directory are free of charge to practitioners and volunteers within Gateshead. Training has been delivered virtually and face to face to allow delegates to choose the most convenient method of learning to suit their job role.

Prevention Mental Capacity Training 

The need to strengthen the support for practitioners in understanding the Mental Capacity Act, carrying out mental capacity assessments and recording of assessments has been evident from learning reviews which have been undertaken. The board continued to offer Introduction to MCA and Practical Application of MCA during 2023/24 as part of its multi-agency offer.

This offer will be enhanced during 2024/25 with the delivery of sessions on Executive Dysfunction, the course was piloted in 2022/23 and is now delivered by multi-agency partners. The session will provide an overview of executive dysfunction, the impact it has on decision making and the complexity / obstacles to assessment.

Your Voice Counts delivered Advocacy Awareness training which aimed to give individuals legal right to advocacy under the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act and the Mental Health Act 1983.

Responses from impact evaluation questionnaires highlighted the positive impact that the training had on learners' thinking and practice.

Safeguarding Adult Week 2023

Gateshead Safeguarding Adults Board Safeguarding Adults Week ran from 20 to 24 November 2023. The week is supported and promoted by the Ann Craft Trust and the theme for the week was prioritising the welfare and wellbeing of yourself and others, with each day of the week focusing on a specific theme:

What's My Role in Safeguarding Adults? 

• Let's Start Talking - Taking The Lead on Safeguarding in Your Organisation 
• Who Cares For The Carers? Secondary and Vicarious Trauma
• Adopting a Trauma Informed approach to Safeguarding Adults
• Listen, Learn, Lead - Co-Production With Experts by Experience

Networking Event

A variety of activities took place during the week to raise awareness of various aspects of safeguarding adults:

Gateshead Safeguarding Adults Board hosted a Networking Event to open the week. The event provided an opportunity for anyone working with adults across Gateshead to meet representatives from organisations who are working to safeguard adults who are at risk, learn about the work they are doing and share information and good practice.

There were presentations from:

• Connected Voice and Your Voice Counts - Advocacy Providers
• Admiral Dementia Nurses • Northeast and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board
• Gateshead Carers Association
• The Hoarding Network
• Locality Team, Promoting Locality working

"Really well organised day, lots of information and networking - excellent event"

During the week a range of sessions ran to support learning during Safeguarding Week these sessions were open to book by anyone in Gateshead who works with adults:

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service "I didn't know the fire service did that"

TWFRS delivered a session which gave an over of the services they offer, including Safe and Well visits and community engagement activities, their work to Improve the number and quality of partner Safe and Well referrals and build on the good reputation of the service to reach marginalised individuals and groups.

Learning from SARs - Sandra, Lorel and Kerilyn's Story

The Safeguarding Adults Board were pleased to welcome Lorel, Sandra's daughter to co-facilitate this session based on the SAR which was undertaken by Merton Safeguarding Adults Board. Sandra had a history of mental health illness and was alcohol dependent, her daughter talked openly about the struggles her and her sister faced in supporting their mum and the impact on them of the lack of recognition as them as young carers. The SAR learning included an absence of partnership working, confusion re: Sandra's mental health, mental capacity, risk assessments not completed, poor system response re: self-neglect and addiction, missed opportunities to safeguard Sandra and escalate concerns and Sandra's daughters' needs were not considered.

Looking after the Practitioners - Self Care and Wellbeing

The session delivered by Rockpool CIC focused on vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue and the effect on practitioners of working regularly with trauma and human suffering. The session offered practical advice on self care and recognising stress responses to maintain wellbeing.

Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP)

This session was developed by the local authority safeguarding team and gave practitioners an overview of the Care Act Statutory Guidance and their role in MSP, ensure safeguarding is person centred and focuses on the individual's identified outcomes.

"Really good informative session, good discussions" (MSP)

Toxic Stress: The Road to Poor Outcomes

See Learning and Development Slide from for more information.

Re-Routing Your Neural Pathways - A Guide to Building Resilience

This session aimed to help participants consider how to re-train our brains to break habits and build resilience.

"Thank you for the session. I felt my mood lift and found it very useful to apply in practice"

Friday Friends - Mate Crime

Presented by the Lawnmowers Theatre Company, a theatre company ran by for and with people with learning disabilities who explore the issue of mate crime through a live show. The training involved a 20-minute showing of their play called "Friday Friends." This play highlights the risks that People with Learning disabilities face and how vulnerable they can be. This was followed by a discussion about what true friendship means and how people vulnerabilities can be exploited.

"Great session. Very informative and helps with reflective practice. I feel all AHP/Medics should attend."

Self-Neglect - Lifestyle Choice ​or ​Something More

This session developed and presented by the Local Authority ASSET Team Manager, aimed to reframe how we support people who self-neglect. The session gave a clear overview of the difference between a lifestyle choice and self-neglect, the causes of self-neglect and how to support people.

Trauma Informed Practice

See the Learning and Development slide for more information.