Health & Community Services: Lead Co-ordinating Agency and the Safeguarding Adults Team

1. Lead Co-ordinating Agency

Health & Community Services Safeguarding Adults Team (SAT) have the lead role in coordinating the Multi-Agency approach to safeguard People at Risk. This includes co-ordinating Safeguarding Adults interventions and the activity shared between organisations. In the event of a criminal investigation the Police take the lead role in the investigation of a crime (see States of Jersey Police website).

Health and Community Services (SAT) will:

• Ensure that any Safeguarding Adults concern is acted on in line with the Safeguarding Adults Procedures;
• Coordinate the actions that relevant organisations take in accordance with their own duties and responsibilities;
• Ensure a continued focus on the adult at risk and consideration of other adults or children;
• Ensure that key decisions are made to an agreed timescale;
• Ensure that any Safeguarding Plans (when required) are put in place with adequate arrangements for review and monitoring;
• Ensure that any actions and interventions are proportionate to the level of risk and enable the adult at risk to be in control, unless there are clear recorded reasons why this should not be the case;
• The Safeguarding Adults Team must make enquiries, or request partner agencies to do so, if they reasonably suspect a person who meets the criteria is, or is at risk of, being abused or neglected.

ENQUIRIES EXPLAINED:

The purpose of the enquiry is to decide whether the Safeguarding Adult Team or another organisation, or person, should do something to support and protect the person at risk. If the SAT decides that another organisation should make the enquiry, for example a care provider, then the SAT should be clear about timescales and scope of the work required.

The outcome of an enquiry should reflect the person at risk's wishes wherever possible, as stated by them or by their representative or advocate (see Capacity and Consent). The person should always be involved at the earliest appropriate opportunity in the enquiry, unless there are exceptional circumstances that would increase the risk of abuse. If the person has substantial difficulty in being involved, and where there is no one appropriate to support them, then the SAT must arrange for an independent advocate to represent them, facilitating their involvement.

Those undertaking enquiries require appropriate sensitivity and skill to ensure minimal distress to the person. Personal and family relationships within community settings can prove both difficult to assess and complex regarding intervention. The dynamics of personal relationships can be challenging to judge and rebalance. For example, a person may make a choice to remain in a relationship that causes them emotional distress or financial harm, if they prefer to prioritise maintaining the relationship.

Whilst work with the person may (at times) requires the input of a social worker, other aspects of enquiries may be best undertaken by others with more appropriate skills and knowledge. For example, healthcare professionals for clinical evaluation and input.

Some enquiries may require a range of staff to play their part. Someone well known to the person may be able to engage with them more positively, so professionals from a range of agencies should be considered dependent on the nature of the concern.

The SAT MUST respectfully request the assistance of any other organisation they consider appropriate to safeguarding individuals and in return MUST receive cooperation from multi-agency partners in carrying out any required safeguarding interventions. Whilst the SAT are the lead agency with responsibility for coordinating adult safeguarding arrangements, all the members of the SAB should designate a lead officer. Other agencies should also consider the benefits of having a lead for adult safeguarding.

Disputes to these arrangements will follow the agreed format (Insert: Conflict and resolution pathway); however, it is expected that cooperation prevails, and disagreements are managed with courtesy and professionalism and kept away from clients and their private networks.

In Jersey we pride ourselves on the strength of partnership arrangements we have in place, and we recognise the skills, strengths and knowledge of all our partners in delivering quality safeguarding interventions to our citizens.

2. Safeguarding Coordinator

Senior staff within Health & Community Services (SAT) carry out the lead agency functions. For these procedures the role is referred to simply as the Safeguarding Coordinator.

When responding to a safeguarding concern, a range of individuals and organisations may need to take actions within these procedures to support a person at risk. To ensure effective responses, the work of agencies need to be planned and coordinated with consideration of the wishes and desired outcomes of the person at risk, and the support they have from friends, family members and the communities in which they live.

The Safeguarding Coordinator is the Officer who has overall responsibility for ensuring there is an appropriate response to the concerns raised. This involves coordinating the actions of all parties in relation to the concerns, to achieve the aims and objectives of these multi-agency policy and procedures. The Safeguarding Coordinator must ensure arrangements are made for the continued involvement of the person (at risk) in all decisions made about them in accordance with their wishes and desired outcomes.