Gateshead Safeguarding Adults Annual Report 2023/24

Two Safeguarding Adult Review were completed during 2023/ 24.

Thomas SAR

The Thomas SAR was undertaken by an independent author with the final report and recommendations presented to the board in December 2024. The full report, presentation and Seven-Minute Briefing can all be found on the Safeguarding Adults Board Website. There were seven recommendations from the review which covered:

1. Safeguarding Adults Board should ensure a collaborative approach by Mental Health and other services to the care of people with complex presentations.

2. Develop a multi-agency protocol on managing people that services find difficult to engage.

3. Public Health Commissioners should ensure that the needs of people with substance use disorders that services find difficult to engage are considered in local needs assessment or commissioning plan.

4. Safeguarding Adults Board should ensure that agencies and individual professionals are recognising the need to safeguard individuals with challenging presentations

5. Safeguarding Adults Board should remind all professionals of the importance of considering mental capacity and executive dysfunction when working with complex and challenging clients

6. Public Health Commissioners and the Integrated Care Board should review the response to people with co occurring disorders to ensure that it is consistent with national guidance.

7. Safeguarding Adults Board should remind all professionals of the importance of collecting accurate data on alcohol and drug use. A multi-agency action plan has been developed from the recommendations and the actions are being monitored through the Quality, Learning and Practice Subgroup.

Henry SAR (Adult H)

Although the SAR referral did not meet the criteria for a statutory review the SARCC group that there was learning to take from the case in relation to information sharing, use of multi-disciplinary meetings (MDTs), provision of informal support from VCS, professional curiosity, self-neglect and digital access to services. Single agency actions were also identified, and an action plan was drafted following a multi-agency learning review.

Terms of reference were drafted for the review and a practitioner event took place in November 2023. The review was chaired by the Director of Public Health with representation from Karbon Homes, Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), Libraries, GHFT, NEAS, Integrated Adults and Social Care Services, Northumbria Police.

Representatives shared information regarding Henry and identified the learning to be taken from the case. The learning and actions from the review is being monitored by the Safeguarding Adults Board, and assurances are being sought from partner agencies to prevent similar cases in the future.

See the Seven Minute briefing for the case.