Safeguarding policies, procedures and protocols

The following policies and procedures underpin all safeguarding adults practice in West Sussex. They come from three different areas:

• West Sussex County Council
• West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board
• Sussex Safeguarding Policies and Procedures (West Sussex County Council, East Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council).

Following these policies and procedures ensures that your practice is current and consistent.

Local authorities need to share sensitive or personal information with its safeguarding partners (including health, the police and service providers) for safeguarding purposes.

• why we need to share information
• the principles of sharing adult safeguarding information
• what happens if an adult does not want their information shared and
• how to improve communication and joint-working.

The Sussex Escalation and Resolution Protocol supports consistent and timely decision-making where there may be disagreements or issues arising between professionals and agencies, in relation to adult safeguarding.

The protocol includes a streamlined escalation process that explicitly ensures relevant safeguarding leads are consulted at an appropriate point, and also, guidance on Mental Capacity issues and safeguarding.

This document underpins the Sussex Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures. It seeks to outline the operational framework for managing safeguarding provider concerns.

A provider concern should be triggered where there are significant safeguarding concerns or multiple Section 42 safeguarding enquiries, and a wider public interest issue or possible risk to other adults. This includes all adults who are supported by the provider, irrespective of who is commissioning their care.

This protocol sets out the arrangements for discussing cases where there are concerns of significant high risk to individuals. Agencies are expected to have worked together and exhausted all routes to provide support and mitigate those risks.

Before submitting a referral, please note the following:

• Guidance note for referrers - professionals should refer to this before considering whether a referral to MARM subgroup is needed.
• MARM Protocol - please read if submitting a referral.
• Thresholds Guidance Document - please refer to this to consider if raising a safeguarding adult concern would be more appropriate.

To make a referral to the MARM subgroup, please complete the referral form and attach a current risk assessment.

The Care Act 2014 requires the local authority, its relevant partners, and those providing care and support services to have clear policies in place for dealing with allegations against anyone working in a position of trust. A position of trust is a paid or unpaid role when working with adults with care and support needs.

For further guidance on the safeguarding requirements for managing allegations against people in positions of trust, go to the Sussex Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures website.

Important reminder

Please do not use the online safeguarding referral form if you wish to inform the Local Authority about a concern relating to a person in a position of trust. The online safeguarding referral form is only to be used to inform the Local Authority about safeguarding concerns in relation to an adult who has care and support needs.

The Sussex Adult Death Protocol outlines the process that should be followed when an unexpected adult death takes place and there is a suspicion, or it is known that abuse or neglect by a third party directly contributed to the death.

The protocol offers a robust framework for bringing together key agencies at the earliest opportunity to ensure effective collaborative working, rapid risk assessment and information sharing.

This protocol was developed across Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs) and has been adopted by all partner agencies of the Sussex SABs. You can find out more about the protocol in this 7 Minute Briefing.