Content

9.1

The
Service Manager introduced the report which provided the
six-monthly Adult Care and Wellbeing Safeguarding update for
assurance to the Committee.
 
Endorsement is requested from Committee to continue to the work
set out in the Safeguarding Delivery Plan and for the Sheffield
Adult Safeguarding Partnership (SASP) Annual Report. Approval is
sought for an Early Indicators of Concern Guidance. This sets out
an approach to identify early any concerns which may require a
planned response and process to follow to prevent harm from
occurring. Approval was also sought for a commissioning strategy to
undertake best interest assessors where there is little or no
capacity within the in-house Deprivation of Liberty Orders
Service.
 

9.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Adult Health
and Social Care Policy Committee:-

Endorse progress made with implementing the Adult Care and
Wellbeing Safeguarding Delivery Plan including actions identified
from a self-evaluation carried out for the SASP Board.
Endorse the Sheffield Adults Safeguarding Board Strategic
Plan.
Approve the Early Indicators of Concern Guidance.
Approve the Best Interest Assessors Commissioning
Strategy
Agree
that an update is provided in 6 months as to performance and
progress made with implementation of the Safeguarding Delivery
Plan.

9.3

Reasons for Decision

9.3.1

An
approved delivery plan for the strategy gives a structured approach
to delivery of safeguarding improvements so that Members and the
public can be assured that Adult Care is delivering upon its
commitment to protect people from abuse and harm. It will also
provide greater accountability and transparency of how will do
this.
 
Asking
for regular updates and refreshes of the plan will keep the
Committee, wider stakeholders, and the public the ability to hold
the Council to account for progress and provide an additional
mechanism to input to future development.
 
Providing approval for a Commissioning Strategy to recruit an
external agency to provide Best Interest Assessors (BIA) for a
5-year period, with option of extension options on a year-by-year
basis, to enable a response to surge in demand for mental capacity
and best interest assessment will negate the need for / reduce
costs associated with agency BIA and ad hoc arrangements and ensure
greater quality of provision.

9.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

9.4.1

Alternative Option 1:
 
To Not Have a Delivery Plan: Adults Care Social Care has duties set out in the Care Act and
Mental Health Acts which require a focus on Safeguarding. The Care
Quality Commission Local Authority Assurance will specifically look
at Adult Social Care approach to Ensuring Safety and due to this a
delivery plan is required to mitigate and proactively respond to
known risks.

9.4.2

Alternative Option 2:
 
To
not progress a commissioning strategy for best interest
assessors:-
 
Do
Nothing - this does leave us with a number of
outstanding assessments which would further put which would
undoubtedly put the council at risk of unauthorised
deprivations.
 
Recruit
more in house BIA - However we may simply have
had a one off surge over the past year which may not be sustained
and if we were to recruit permanently we might be left with an
excess of staff that we may not need in the future. This would be
the more expensive of the three options proposed.
 
Agency
BIA - continue to use agency which we have done
for a three[1]month
period earlier in the year. However, this is a costly option and
does not provide best practice.

Independent BIAon a procurement framework
– Having a dedicated procurement framework
provides consistency of cover