A joint inspection of adult support and protection measures in the Dundee area has found clear strengths in ensuring adults at risk of harm are safe, protected and supported. However, inspectors also identified areas which could further improve.
The report identified a number of key strengths. These included:
Initial inquiries were progressed within timescales to meet the needs of the adults at risk.
Investigatory powers were almost always undertaken or overseen by a council officer indicating a strong alignment with the refreshed adult support and protection code of practice.
Multi-agency adult support and protection case conferences were well attended meetings where partner agencies worked collectively to support and protect adults at risk of harm.
The dedicated NHS Tayside adult support and protection team was a valued resource for staff across partner agencies.
Strategic leaders were committed to including the voice and experience of adults in strategic planning and development. The voice of lived experience was evident on the adult protection committee. A collaboration of local and national partners was strengthening this commitment more widely across strategic groups.
Strategic leaders had a shared and collaborative vision. This included innovative and ambitious strategic plans to meet the complex needs and vulnerability of adults at risk of harm in Dundee. A protecting people approach had been adopted.
The inspections also reported key areas for improvement. These included:
The partnership needed to improve the consistent application and quality of investigation, chronology and risk assessment templates.
Quality assurance, self-evaluation and audit activities were embedded but to varying degrees, particularly across social work services. Greater cohesion and strategic oversight were needed to ensure the necessary change and improvement.
The pace of strategic change and improvement needed to accelerate. The partnership was aware through a joint inspection in 2017 that improvement was required across key areas of practice and strategic leadership. Their own audit activity had reached similar conclusions, but progress was limited in key areas.
The partnership should also ensure that strategic planning and implementation of new initiatives across key processes and strategic leadership are well resourced, sustainable and impact assessed.
Jackie Irvine, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “The Care Inspectorate and our partners Healthcare Improvement Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland were asked by Scottish Ministers to carry out a second phase of joint inspections of adult support and protection across Scotland. This is a report of our findings for the Dundee partnership.
“We concluded that the partnership’s key processes and strategic leadership for adult support and protection were 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.
“We have asked the Dundee partnership to prepare an improvement plan to address the priority areas for improvement we identified. The Care Inspectorate, through its link inspector, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland will monitor progress implementing this plan.”
The full report can be read here.