RSS Press releases

The Council’s Social Work Services committee [31 January] will consider a report on the process and findings of the Joint Inspection of Adult Support and Protection Services in the Dumfries and Galloway Partnership Area.

 The committee is recommended to note:

• the process of the inspection
• the findings, key strengths and areas for improvement in the report; and
• the comparative position with other Authorities.

 The Care Inspectorate informed the Council’s Chief Executive in May 2021 of its intention to undertake a Joint Inspection of Adult Support and Protection Services in the Dumfries and Galloway Partnership Area.

 This is a statutory function under section 115 of part 8 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. The Joint Inspection Team comprised the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland.

 The purpose of this joint inspection was to seek assurance that adults at risk of harm in Dumfries and Galloway are supported and protected by existing national and local adult support and protection arrangements to provide assurance to Scottish Ministers about how effectively the partnership has implemented the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. The inspection also represented an opportunity to identify good practice and support improvement.

 Preparation included the development of a pre inspection return, a short but detailed position statement and supporting documentation.

 Key inspection activities included case file reading, focus groups and a staff survey for Health, Police Scotland, Provider organisations, Social Work, and Social Care staff.

 The Inspectors particularly commended the work done by the Public Protection Performance and Assurance Lead to develop a clear structure to provide the information required for the file reading.

 Two quality indicators were used to undertake the Joint Inspection evaluation and the findings based on these specific quality indicators:

How good are the key adult support and protection processes?

How good is leadership for adult support and protection?

 The Inspection found that:

• The partnership achieved good outcomes for almost all adults at risk of harm, including during the period of Covid-19 restrictions.
• The partnership had made a sound decision to focus on adult support and protection early screening/triage and duty to inquire arrangements.
• The well-resourced multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) provided a robust platform from which to take forward adult support and protection work.
• Adult support and protection investigations and risk assessments were collaborative and undertaken to a high standard.
• The rolling risk assessment and use of a risk matrix contributed to high quality work.
• The partnership’s chief officer group and public protection committee worked well together to provide a clear vision and ensure adult support and protection remained a strategic priority prior to and during Covid-19.
• There was a clear collaborative ethos across the partnership including frontline staff, and across the leadership team including the statutory, third and independent sector organisations.

Areas identified for Improvement:

• Key process timescales were inconsistently met, resulting in poor outcomes for a small, but significant number of adults at risk of harm.
• Medical examinations should be completed in line with the needs of the adult at risk of harm.
• The partnership should implement means to ensure frontline staff are more directly involved in self-evaluation and improvement activity.

The Inspection report concluded:

• Key Processes are effective with areas for improvement. There were clear strengths supporting positive experiences and outcomes for adults at risk of harm, which collectively outweighed the areas for improvement
• Leadership is effective with areas for improvement. There were clear strengths supporting positive experiences and outcomes for adults at risk of harm, which collectively outweighed the areas for improvement
• The staff survey showed that staff were confident that multi-agency partners worked collaboratively to keep adults at risk of harm safe in Dumfries and Galloway and that most staff felt that adults at risk of harm experienced a safer quality of life from the support they received.
• Staff indicated that they were appropriately supported to undertake adult support and protection work, felt safe and protected doing so during the restricted period and were confident that the partnership provided the right level of mandatory training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to undertake their roles effectively.
• Staff were less positive regarding participation in multi-agency training and development opportunities and the level of staff involvement in self-evaluation activity to inform improvement in adult support and protection work was low.

 The final phase of the inspection was the submission of an improvement plan by 19 January 2022 marking the formal end of the inspection process.

 Councillor Stephen Thompson, chair of the Social Work Services committee, said: “I welcome the findings of this inspection, which are very positive. Our performance compares well on a number of key areas against other authorities inspected recently, and we have already taken action to address any matters identified for improvement. Well done to everyone involved across the services.”

 Councillor David McKie, vice chair, said: “This positive inspection report is very welcome. It reflects the good work done by those involved in adult support and protection in Dumfries and Galloway.”