A joint inspection of adult support and protection in Aberdeen City has found clear strengths in ensuring adults at risk of harm are safe, protected and supported.
Scottish Ministers requested that the Care Inspectorate lead joint inspections in collaboration with Healthcare Improvement Scotland and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland.
The joint inspections aim to provide assurance about individual local partnership areas’ effective operations of adult support and protection key processes, and leadership for adult support and protection.
The joint inspection of the Aberdeen City partnership took place between January and April 2022.
Inspectors found there was effective communication and information sharing between agencies at every stage of adult support and protection activity. The quality of risk assessment work was central to improvements in nearly every adult’s safety and protection.
Working relationships across the strategic leadership team had strengthened during the last few years. They worked closely together to address priority areas of work collaboratively and effectively.
Inspectors also identified areas which needed to improve.
Some adult support and protection investigations and initial case conferences took too long to be initiated or concluded. This exposed a few adults to ongoing risk.
Health staff played a key supporting role in adult protection work but were not consistently or accurately recording this in their records. Increased oversight should be introduced to ensure the necessary change.
Edith Macintosh, interim Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “Strategic leaders have successfully led on the necessary changes required as set out in the 2018 ‘Services for Older People in Aberdeen City’ progress review. Staff were very positive about the strategic leadership team’s ability to continue delivering this and our findings fully support this view.
“We have now asked the Aberdeen City partnership to prepare a plan to address the priority areas for improvement. The Care Inspectorate, through our link inspector, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HMICS will monitor progress implementing this plan.”
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Notes to editors
The full report can be read here.