Agenda item

The Health and Wellbeing Board received and considered the Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board 2022-23 Annual Report and 2023-24 Business Plan which was presented by Henri Gillier, Independent Chair, Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board.

The Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board (OSAB) is a statutory partnership set up to safeguard adults at risk of experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation. As part of its statutory duties the Board is required to produce an Annual Report setting out the safeguarding concerns it has dealt over the last year, as well as a Business Plan setting out future ambitions and actions to help keep people safe in Oldham. The purpose of this report is to share the Board’s agreed 2022-23 Annual Report and 2022-24 Business Plan with members of the Health and Wellbeing Board for their consideration.

The role of the OSAB is to assure itself that organisations and agencies across Oldham are working together to protect and enable adults to live safely. This means helping people to make decisions about the risks they face in their own lives as well as protecting those who lack the capacity to make these decisions.

The Board has three main statutory duties which are to:

• Produce a Strategic Business Plan setting out the changes the Board wants to achieve and how organisations will work together.
• Publish an Annual Report setting out the safeguarding concerns it has dealt with in the last year as well as plans to keep people safe in the future.
• Undertake a Safeguarding Adult Review in line with Section 44 of the Care Act where it believes someone has experienced harm as a result of abuse, neglect or exploitation.

The Board’s 2022-23 Annual Report provides information on the number and type of safeguarding concerns reported in Oldham along with the actions taken to adopt learning from the Safeguarding Adult Reviews. Central to this has been the collection and sharing of firsthand experiences by adults ‘at risk’ and family members who have experience of safeguarding issues and services in Oldham.

In summary, a total of 2175 safeguarding referrals were made in 2022-23 and of these referrals 430 became the subject of a formal Safeguarding Enquiry. The data shows that the number of referrals received more than doubled compared to the number received in 2018-19 and increased by 16% compared to 2021-22. Some of this increase may be due to safeguarding awareness campaigns designed to encourage the residents of Oldham to report their safeguarding concerns and training provided to professionals in Oldham about making safeguarding referrals and the criteria for formal enquiries. However, whilst the number of overall referrals has increased, the number of serious safeguarding enquiries remains relatively consistent over the last four years.

A total of 4 Safeguarding Adult Reviews were completed in 2022-23, which was double the number completed the previous year. Common themes emerging from Safeguarding Adult Reviews involved the multi-agency management of risk; Complex and Contextual Safeguarding including cuckooing, financial abuse, and exploitation; and safeguarding transitions.

The Board’s Business Plan has been shaped by the partner agencies and based on the key learning themes emerging from Safeguarding Adult Reviews, Audits and operational work. As a result, the Business Plan sets out a challenging programme of work, designed to prevent and reduce future safeguarding incidents and implement an effective ‘all age’ safeguarding offer. The Business Plan is designed to focus on action and is being actively promoted and shared across agencies to highlight the aims of the Board and promote the wide range of resources and information available through the Board’s website and fortnightly joint children’s and adults safeguarding bulletins.

Henri Gillier made drew attention to the growing number of safeguarding referrals and emphasized that this is not an alarming factor but that the referrals are being talked about. He added that the majority of the referrals are from older people. He pointed to the need to broaden the recognition of safeguarding that is in place and the need to reach out to the relevant communities.

Dr Patterson informed the Board that over the last three years significant progress has been made and the report underlines that fact. There are less cases been taken forward.

Sayeed Osman, Deputy Chief Executive, acknowledged the progress that had been made and going forward by the Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board. He referred to the challenging aspects of childrens placements and drew attention to the need not to overlook the housing challenge because housing quality was important.

Henri Gillier informed the Board that the Oldham Safeguarding Adults Board has made significant progress over the last twelve months, producing clear multi-agency safeguarding procedures, policies and training programmes designed to translate the learning from serious safeguarding incidents into effective practice. The Board has also aligned its processes with those across Greater Manchester and is working as part of a national network of Safeguarding Adult Boards, sharing ideas and best practice. He emphasised the need to improve the engagement of care homes as well as individuals in their own homes.

Jayne Ratcliffe, underlined the significant work that has been achieved and building on what has already been achieved is important. She emphasised preparations for Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments which cannot be overlooked.

Henri Gillier stated that CQC inspections are important and an event is planned in December with regard to CQC readiness.

The Chair, on behalf of the Board, thanked Henri Gillier for his presentation of the Oldham Safeguarding Annual 2022-23.

Resolved – that the Board endorses and notes the report.