Safeguarding Adults Board annual report summary 2022-23
How the Islington Safeguarding Adults Board did and what they achieved in the borough for vulnerable adults with care needs in 2022-23.
The Safeguarding Adults Board annual report covers achievements, developments and important statistics around safeguarding vulnerable adults with care and support needs in Islington during 2022-23.
Achievements
- Our Quality Audit and Assurance subgroup developed and consulted on a data dashboard of key indicators that we will implement over 2023-24.
- We started a Creative Solutions panel for the most complex and challenging cases of abuse and neglect, helping to reduce risk.
- Our Service User and Carer subgroup is informing and shaping the Board’s agenda, focus and strategic priorities through their active participation.
- Following two serious cases, our Prevention and Learning subgroup developed guidance for partner organisations on choking prevention.
- We have created an action plan based on recommendations from the ‘Liam’ Safeguarding Adults Review to make sure we act on lessons from this case.
- Our Service User and Carer subgroup recommended we hold two local hubs for the London Safeguarding Adults Conference. Nearly 100 local residents attended and this model of participation is being adopted by other areas.
- We are still one of the few places in the UK with no backlogs on Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) applications and authorisations.
Key statistics
Concerns about possible adult abuse or neglect
| Year | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
|---|---|---|
| Reports of concern | 2,844 | 2,179 |
- In nearly 7 out of 8 cases, people were worried about an adult but when we looked into it, we decided a formal safeguarding enquiry was
not needed. - 332 enquiries were carried out into suspected adult abuse, slightly fewer than 2021-22.
- More than half of all cases of abuse and neglect took place in the adult’s own home.
The most common types of abuse found in safeguarding enquires in Islington are:
- neglect
- physical and psychological
- self-neglect.
Successes
- New Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) referrals decreased by 25 per cent. This was because of COVID-19 pandemic-related factors.
- In nearly 90 per cent of cases we either removed or reduced the risks through safeguarding action.
- Financial abuse cases we investigated have reduced from 20 per cent in 2021-22 to 13 per cent in 2022-23.
Developments
Many public services have been criticised nationally – from the Baroness Casey Review of the Police to the Ombudsman’s and Care Quality Commission’s findings that people are not getting the care they need. We will continue to seek assurances as partners focus on people’s safety.
New Online Safety laws aim to make social media companies take more responsibility for the safety of adults and children online by removing harmful, illegal or exploitative content from their platforms.
Until it becomes clearer what the Government’s intention is for Liberty Protection Safeguards, our partners will continue to work in line with DoLS and strive to achieve best practice within the current systems.
More information
Visit our Islington Safeguarding Adults Board partner website.