Agenda item

Marian Harrington, Independent Chair of the Islington Safeguarding Adults Board, presented the report which set out the work of the Board in 2015-16.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·         2015-16 was the first full year since the Care Act was enacted and the Board had a statutory footing for the first time.

·         Recent changes to legislation had defined new types of abuse, such as modern slavery, and the Board had developed practice guidance on this, as well as female genital mutilation, self-neglect, and radicalisation.

·         Work was underway to raise awareness of modern slavery to frontline staff throughout public authorities. It was commented that other authorities had worked with refuse collection operatives, who were often well placed to identify the signs of modern slavery.

·         A conference on fire safety had been held, as vulnerable people were at greater risk. It was important for staff to know how to make referrals to the Fire Service.

·         It was reported that Islington had made good progress on processing deprivation of liberty safeguards applications; it was known that many other local authorities were experiencing delays in processing.

·         Work was underway to improve outreach and prevention work. It was essential for the public to be able to recognise abuse. It was also important to communicate what happens to the perpetrators of abuse. Although the number of prosecutions was low, other interventions were used regularly.

·         Regular quality meetings had been held with care providers to ensure that good quality care was maintained.

·         The Safeguarding Adults Board was to review the unexpected deaths of people with learning disabilities who had been admitted to hospital. Although no instances of this had been recorded in Islington, this was a problem elsewhere and the Board was keen to learn lessons from this.

·         The Board noted the importance of providing safe spaces for vulnerable people, particularly due to the increase in reported hate crime.

·         The Health and Wellbeing Board commended the Safeguarding Adults Board’s commitment to challenging domestic abuse. It was suggested that the Safeguarding Board could review the sexual exploitation of young adults. The Children’s Safeguarding Board knew that this was a problem faced by some young people in Islington; however their responsibilities towards young people stopped at age 18.

·         It was advised that adult social services directors across London were concerned about how the quality of provider services can be ensured. The Safeguarding Adults Board’s role in reviewing the quality of care was welcomed.  It was suggested that a cross-borough approach to care quality was required, and this could potentially be addressed through the STP process.

·         Members considered safeguarding in the borough’s prisons, noting the recent murder at Pentonville Prison and the poor results of its recent inspection. In response, it was advised that only limited engagement took place between Pentonville and the Safeguarding Adults Board and it was known that the prison was experiencing staff shortages and problems with the quality of the building.

·         It was noted that Marian Harrington was retiring from her role on the Safeguarding Adults Board. On behalf of the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Chair thanked Ms Harrington for her work on the Board and wished her well for the future.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the Islington Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Review be noted.