Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults

Tuesday 8th November 2011. Strand Palace, London, 09:00 - 16:00

Preventing and Reducing the Risk of Harm to Vulnerable Adults

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Overview

Safeguarding vulnerable adults involves a range of measures to protect patients in the most vulnerable circumstances. The government has published a series of policies and reports focused on achieving good outcomes in safeguarding vulnerable adults. The aim of these policies is to prevent and reduce the risk of serious harm to vulnerable adults from abuse and other types of exploitation, whilst helping individuals to maintain control over their own lives, and to make informed choices without coercion.

The Statement of Government Policy on Adult Safeguarding published in May 2011, sets out the government’s vision for improving vulnerable adults safeguarding services. It is based on achieving local service provision and outcome-focused practice. The statement sets out 6 principles for benchmarking adult safeguarding arrangements: empowerment; protection; prevention; proportionality; partnership; and accountability.

Furthermore, in March 2011 the Department of Health published a series of safeguarding guidelines titled Safeguarding Adults: The Role of Health Services. These documents provide best practice principles for preventing and responding to neglect and abuse and focusing on patients in the most vulnerable situations. Also, following The Law Commissions’ report on Adult Social Care published May 2011, the government announced a legal requirement for all local authorities to establish Safeguarding Adults Boards. Recommendations for personalised provision of care, partnerships and individual control build on proposals for reform outlined in the government's report A Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens, November 2010.

Funding is also a critically important issue for safeguarding services, recently highlighted by the Commission on Funding of Care and Support's report, Fairer Care Funding, published in July 2011. The report outlined reforms of funding for care and support, including an acknowledgement that an individual's lifetime contributions towards their social care costs should be capped and the means-tested threshold should be increased.

Agenda

This forum comes at a time of great change for adult safeguarding services, and will offer delegates a valuable opportunity to understand the government’s latest policies and vision for safeguarding vulnerable adults. Delegates will hear from senior level policy experts on various topics, including best practice for partnership approaches, personalisation of adult protection services, effective training for frontline staff and the challenges and opportunities for improving safeguarding outcomes.

09:00	Coffee and Registration
09:30	Chair’s Welcome Address Professor Hilary Brown, Senior Consultant (Social Care & Adult Protection), Canterbury University (CONFIRMED)
09:40	Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults - Putting the Government's Guidance into Practice The duties of health services to safeguard adults Applying the government's principles for safeguarding vulnerable adults within health care settings Sylvia Manson, Associate Director, Safeguarding NHS Milton keynes and Northamptonshire (CONFIRMED)
10:00	Morning Keynote: The Government’s Vision for Adult Safeguarding The government’s vision for strengthening safeguarding adults services Claire Crawley, Senior Policy Manager, Adult Safeguarding, Department of Health (CONFIRMED)
10:20	Questions and Answers Session
10:40	Quality Assurance - Regulating, Inspecting and Reviewing Adult Care Services Role of CQC in safeguarding Monitoring of compliance with Essential Standards of Quality and Safety Future of inspection programmes Key safeguarding messages from CQC Louise Lawton, National Safeguarding Advisor, Care Quality Commission (CONFIRMED)
11:00	Questions and Answers Session
11:10	Coffee Break and Networking
11:30	Workforce Development - Training and Educating Frontline Staff Effective and innovative training and education Fostering a multi-agency approach Developing effective leadership in safeguarding Promoting training on helping recognise and respond to abuse Empowering frontline staff to make difficult decisions on risk and protection Developing robust and rigorous recruitment procedures Brian Walsh, Joint Chair, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) Workforce Development Network and Director of Community Services, Coventry City Council (CONFIRMED)
11:50	Improving and Measuring Outcomes of Safeguarding Practice Developing national outcomes and guidelines for safeguarding practices Good practice in safeguarding – developing joined-up working Empowering local organisations, communities and individuals Involving vulnerable adults in defining safeguarding outcomes Responding to the needs of adults with physical or learning difficulties Dr Mervyn Eastman, President, The Practitioners Alliance Against Abuse of Vulnerable Adults and Executive Director, Change AGEnts Network UK (CONFIRMED)
12:10	Safeguarding Older People Understanding the hidden nature of elder abuse Understanding older people's experience of safeguarding Principles of good safeguarding Outcomes of safeguarding Safeguarding the elderly in hospitals - ensuring patient safety Gary Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, Action on Elder Abuse (CONFIRMED)
12:30	Questions and Answers Session
13:00	Lunch Break and Networking
14:00	Personalising Safeguarding Services - Balancing Individual Rights and Protection The impact of personalisation on vulnerable adults Evidence-based practice for personalisation, risk enablement and self-directed support How can personal budgets empower people to break free from abusive treatment? Balancing safeguarding while maintaining individual choice Engaging with vulnerable adults to develop safeguarding goals and practice Ivan Molyneux, Adult Safeguarding and Quality Manager, Cambridgeshire County Council (CONFIRMED)
14:20	The Future of Local Safeguarding Services Delivering a multi-agency approach to adult safeguarding Ensuring flexibility in service provision to responds to local needs Promoting community awareness of vulnerable adults Ensuring local leadership and accountability Serious Case Reviews - using Serious Case Reviews to prevent future abuse Paul Bedwell, Adult Safeguarding Lead and Business Manager, Essex County Council Safeguarding (CONFIRMED)
14:40	The Future Legal Framework for Adult Safeguarding The Law Commission's final report on adult social care - implications for safeguarding Legal duties to investigate adult abuse and neglect The legal definition of an "adult at risk" New emergency and compulsory safeguarding powers Statutory Safeguarding boards Duties to co-operate Tim Spencer-Lane, Lawyer, Law Commission (CONFIRMED)
15:00	Questions and Answers Session
15:30	Coffee Break and Networking
16:00	Chair's Summary and Close

*programme subject to change without notice

Audience

Delegates attending this forum will include commissioners of health and social care services, home care services, designated nurses for adult protection, older people’s services teams, carer support groups and representatives involved in the safeguarding of vulnerable adults within local Safeguarding Boards and partnerships.