For the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) to receive the Annual Report of the HSAB.

The Independent Chair Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board presented a brief summary outlining the main contents of the annual report.

The Chair referenced the fall in the number of reported safeguarding concerns and asked whether this had meant that the overall number of concerns had fallen.

The Independent Chair Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board confirmed that this referred to the number of cases being drawn to the board’s attention had fallen.

The Chair asked what could be done to get more feedback from those involved in safeguarding concern cases.

The Corporate Director Community Wellbeing responded that some feedback in relation to the outcomes of safeguarding cases is followed up. Work is being done in an attempt to gather more feedback.

The Chair asked how understanding, in relation to Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP), is being improved across the wider sector.

The Independent Chair Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board answered that much of this is connected to the work of Talk Community and working with partners in the voluntary sector.

The Director of Public Health noted the desire for more safeguarding training within the voluntary community sector and asked if there is still a need for that.

The Independent Chair Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board answered that not enough data existed on that issue.

The Cabinet Member Children and Young People added that as the outgoing Safeguarding Adults Board Chair, engaging with service users, for the last several years, a number of different ways have been tried to engage with those people. The local authority has a desire to complement and supplement its own work in attempting to engage with service users. On the voluntary community sector, raised by the Director of Public Health, the annual report was presented to HVOSS and work is ongoing as to what a training offer may look.

The Independent Chair Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board noted that a small team is being put into place under the principal social worker to increase capacity to get feedback from users. Some work had been done with Healthwatch to try to get feedback, however, this didn’t get off the ground.

The Chief Officer Healthwatch responded that a process had to be used where the safeguarding team would get consent in mosaic at the end of their safeguarding case. However, not enough consented and access to those service users was not available.

The Vice-Chair asked about the timeliness of the report and whether it will be brought earlier in the year next year.

The Independent Chair Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board responded that it would be the aim of the Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board to bring the next annual report to the Health and Wellbeing Board in autumn. One of the main issues with report timeliness rests with national data sign-off which can take until December to occur.

The Vice-Chair asked the Chair of the Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board what his top worry was.

The Independent Chair Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board answered that his main concern rested with not knowing what was not known from potential safeguarding cases. In addition, a significant concern relates to individuals with complex needs.

The Corporate Director Community Wellbeing commented on the conversion of concerns into inquiries and whether the abuse is substantiated from those inquiries. It is important to not stop people from referring in concerns as that should be informing awareness raising and work in the voluntary community sector as to how best to respond to those concerns.

The Chair asked about the evaluation of safe voice where it has not been possible due to the lack of service user participation.

The Chief Officer Healthwatch noted that to get consent to follow up with individuals who had been going through a safeguarding process, the safeguarding team is asked to ask those individuals to consent about the process. Few individuals consented and not much more work can be done to capture them at a time when they proceeded through the process.

The Chair added that the training courses which were provided have been well-attended and underlined the positive engagement with these events.

The report recommendations were proposed, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Resolved

That:

a) The Health and Wellbeing Board considers the HSAB Annual Report 2022/23 and discuss the effectiveness of the arrangements for safeguarding adults in Herefordshire.