A new paper asks whether there should be a national mechanism to identify and share with care services the most relevant learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs).
The paper is based on a small scale, informal review of SARs by Peter Cheer, an Associate Consultant at the Institute of Public Care (IPC).
The review considers 37 of the 60 SARs (or summaries of SARs) published on www.nationalnetwork.org.uk dated in 2022. These concerned adults who had received a care service at some point during the review period, typically care homes and homecare, with some people receiving respite care, supported living or day services and one person directly employing personal assistants.
The research examines issues identified in Safeguarding Adult Reviews, such as self-neglect, capacity, standards of care, handovers between services, cancelled services and police investigations, and looks for common themes and potential learning.
The report noted there were 14 SARs where self-neglect was an issue and the adult had received a homecare service at some point during the review period, but little discussion at SARs about how homecare workers support people with issues like self-neglect.
The report commented that, in reality, of the people and services around the adult, it will often be the homecare workers who see the adult most often and know them best, forming a relationship with the person when that might be difficult for others, and going beyond identifying and reporting safeguarding issues.
How Can Care Providers Learn From Safeguarding Adult… | IPC Brookes
