1. Provider Meeting Briefing
Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adults Board
Provider Meeting Briefing

2. What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.
It is:
people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect
making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including having regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action.
This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances. People have complex lives and being safe is only one of the things they want for themselves.

3. What is safeguarding?
Professionals should work with the adult to establish what being safe means to them and how that can be best achieved.
Professionals and other staff should not be advocating ‘safety’ measures that do not take account of individual well-being (or lack of safety measures that increases the risk of significant harm).

4. What safeguarding isn’t…
Safeguarding is not:
A substitute for issues relating to safe, effective care and support by staff with the right skills.
In place of ensuring that the right services are available in the right places.
Monitoring the safety and effectiveness of services, ensuring that everyone meets their legal requirements.
A substitute for the core duties of the police to prevent and detect crime and protect life and property. Criminal offences should be reported to the Police.
Safeguarding is not:
A substitute for issues relating to safe, effective care and support by staff with the right skills. Poor care should be addressed with the care provider unless the poor care causes serious harm or is persistent/recurrent.
In place of ensuring that the right services are available in the right places. This is the role of commissioning bodies, such as the Local Authority and Clinical Commissioning Group.
Monitoring the safety and effectiveness of services, ensuring that everyone meets their legal requirements. This is the role of the commissioners and the Care Quality Commission.
a substitute for the core duties of the police to prevent and detect crime and protect life and property. Criminal offences should be reported to the Police.

5. To date: 1447 (52%) increase in alerts
The Local Picture…
Total alerts
% Increase
Apr 2015
377
Apr 2016
552
46%
May 2015
303
May 2016
648
114%
Jun 2015
421
Jun 2016
631
50%
Jul 2015
435
Jul 2016
575
32%
Aug 2015
305
Aug 2016
640
110%
Sep 2015
415
Sep 2016
593
43%
Oct 2015
547
Oct 2016
611
12%
Nov 2015
411
To date: 1447 (52%) increase in alerts
(Apr-Oct comparison)
Dec 2015
431
Jan 2016
505
Feb 2016
514
Mar 2016
492

6. Alerts Progressed to Safeguarding
The Local Picture…
Alerts Progressed to Safeguarding
No. Progressed %
Nov 2015
114
28%
Dec 2015
120
Jan 2016
170
34%
Feb 2016
216
42%
Mar 2016
186
38%
Apr 2016
167
30%
May 2016
203
31%
Jun 2016
194
Jul 2016
165
29%
Aug 2016
185
Sep 2016
163
27%
Oct 2016
153
25%

7. percentage going to enquiries
The Local Picture…
percentage going to enquiries
Care Home
Family & Friends
Health
Housing LA
Other
Police
Provider Agency
Self
Nov 2015 9%
40%
24%
67%
50%
33%
31%
27%
38%
Dec 2015
20%
46%
21%
25%
68%
17%
Jan 2016
19%
35%
44%
57%
28%
47%
Feb 2016
22%
60%
53%
Mar 2016
18%
59%
41%
52%
55%
37%
Apr 2016
16%
36%
85%
42%
May 2016
43%
Jun 2016
39%
30%
29%
Jul 2016
32%
56%
Aug 2016
14%
23%
Sep 2016
13%
26%
54%
Oct 2016
15%

8. What Abuse Can Look Like?
Abuse and Neglect can include:
Inappropriate restraint
indecent exposure
withdrawal of services or supportive networks
internet scamming
coercion in relation to an adult’s financial affairs or arrangements, including in connection with wills, property, inheritance or financial transactions (financial abuse)
failure to provide access to appropriate health, care and support or educational services
Neglect of oneself
Self-neglect
This covers a wide range of behaviour neglecting to care for one’s personal hygiene, health or surroundings and includes behaviour such as hoarding. It should be noted that self-neglect may not prompt a statutory safeguarding investigation (known as a section 42 enquiry, taken from S42 of The Care Act). A decision on whether a response is required under safeguarding will depend on the adult’s ability to protect themselves by controlling their own behaviour.
Part of the challenge is knowing when and how far to intervene when there are concerns about self-neglect and a person makes a capacitated decision not to acknowledge there is a problem or to engage in improving the situation, as this usually involves making individual judgments about what is an acceptable way of living, balanced against the degree of risk to an adult and/or others.

9. How to Support Safeguarding
Have clear roles and responsibilities and professional boundaries
Create strong multi-agency partnerships
Ensure a positive learning environment
Enable access to mainstream community resources that can reduce the social and physical isolation
Clarify how responses to safeguarding concerns deriving from the poor quality and inadequacy of service provision should be responded to
ensure that everyone is clear about their roles and responsibilities and professional boundaries
create strong multi-agency partnerships that provide timely and effective prevention of and responses to abuse or neglect
support the development of a positive learning environment across these partnerships and at all levels within them to help break down cultures that are risk-averse and seek to scapegoat or blame staff and volunteers
enable access to mainstream community resources such as accessible leisure facilities, safe town centres and community groups that can reduce the social and physical isolation which in itself may increase the risk of abuse or neglect
clarify how responses to safeguarding concerns deriving from the poor quality and inadequacy of service provision, including patient safety in the health sector, should be responded to

10. What to do if you have a concern
take any necessary immediate action to keep the person safe
Seek advice from the Adult Safeguarding Service if you’re unsure it’s a safeguarding issue
Record and report any safeguarding concerns appropriately within your organisation
take any necessary immediate action to keep the person safe (proportionate to your role and with the person’s consent where they have capacity)
Discuss concerns with your line manager or seek advice from the Adult Safeguarding Service if you’re unsure it’s a safeguarding issue
Record and report any safeguarding concerns appropriately within your organisation following your organisation’s policies and procedures or through local safeguarding procedures to another service or organisation.
Adult Safeguarding issues can be reported online or by telephone. Please visit the OSAB website ( and click the “Concerned About An Adult” button (found on every page of the website) for more information.

11. What to do if you have a concern
Adult Safeguarding issues can be reported online or by telephone. Please visit the OSAB website ( and click the “Concerned About An Adult” button.
Consultation Service: you can call and ask to speak to the triage team for a safeguarding consultation. This is only for consultations on issues where you are unsure if it is a safeguarding issue or not.
take any necessary immediate action to keep the person safe (proportionate to your role and with the person’s consent where they have capacity)
Discuss concerns with your line manager or seek advice from the Adult Safeguarding Service if you’re unsure it’s a safeguarding issue
Record and report any safeguarding concerns appropriately within your organisation following your organisation’s policies and procedures or through local safeguarding procedures to another service or organisation.
Adult Safeguarding issues can be reported online or by telephone. Please visit the OSAB website ( and click the “Concerned About An Adult” button (found on every page of the website) for more information.