Provider Learning Review podcast transcript

Thank you for joining us for this short podcast, produced on behalf of the West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board. Today, we’ll be looking at our Provider Learning Review, including the findings and key recommendations made by the reviewer.

Our Provider Learning Review was commissioned following a referral from Sussex Police relating to concerns about residents living at homes run by a single provider. An unprecedent volume of safeguarding concerns were raised between 2016 and 2019, resulting in safeguarding enquiries for around 86 adults. There were also two police criminal investigations, which resulted in one conviction.

The concerns raised included issues around staffing, medication management, wound care, personal care, manual handling, risk assessments, equipment, and the provision of in-house specialist support. The reviewer spoke with a number of people with knowledge and insight into the events at the centre of the review. This included inviting contributions from family members of the 13 deceased adults at the centre of the police investigation. We are extremely grateful to the relatives of four of these adults, who accepted this invitation, and shared their experiences with us.

So, let’s take a look now at the findings identified by the reviewer.

The reviewer noted that health inequalities for people with learning disabilities are still widespread. There are insufficient resources to support younger adults, in particular, to live well in the community, while accessing specialist learning disability services. The reviewer found that there isn’t enough consistency in approaches to managing concerns about providers, such as care homes, across Sussex. This means that there are different processes in place across Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, and West Sussex. Finally, the reviewer suggested that the current 9am-5pm Monday to Friday social care model is outdated. This means that it doesn’t always meet the needs of customers, especially where care and support is needed on a 24/7 basis.

Now that we have identified the main findings of the review, let’s take a look at some of the key recommendations made by the reviewer. It’s important to note that many of the recommendations in this review are for regional and national organisations. You can find a full list of recommendations in the report.

The reviewer has recommended that the Board should seek assurance about the support available to staff, as well as continuing to ensure that our policies, procedures, and protocols, are effective. This includes making sure that all staff know how to refer safeguarding concerns, and how and when to use the Sussex Escalation and Resolution Protocol. You can refresh your knowledge of the Sussex Escalation and Resolution Protocol by visiting the ‘Policy and protocols’ page of our website. Following this review, we will also be following recommendations to solidify our pan Sussex approach to processes, where it makes sense to do so. We’ve made our commitment to this a priority in our 2025-2028 Strategic Plan.

The review also made recommendations to the National Network for Safeguarding Adults Board Chairs. Namely, that we need to give more thought, nationally, to working with families, and advocacy arrangements. Again, this is something that we will be prioritising in our 2025/26 annual business plan as part of our Strategic Plan. Additionally, the reviewer has made recommendations highlighting the need to work with the Department for Health and Social Care, to clarify arrangements for power of entry, the seizure of medical records, and the thresholds for the prosecution of organisational abuse.

So, where do we go from here?

Since the start of this review process, we know that there have already been systemic and enduring changes in West Sussex, as a direct result of the events at the centre of this report. We’ll continue to progress the recommendations, both at a local and national level with the support of the National Network for Safeguarding Adults Board Chairs. You can also do your bit to help us to embed the learning from this review by considering the following:

• Do you access support from peers and managers to manage the impact of your lived experience, as staff, when working with challenging situations? If not, how can you begin to embed this in your team’s practice?
• Do you know how to refer safeguarding concerns, and how to use the Escalation and Resolution Protocol if you have disagreements with another agency or professional in relation to adult safeguarding?
• Do you know where to go to arrange advocacy support for an adult that you are working with, particularly where there is little or no family contact? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’, speak with your line manager or safeguarding lead to clarify the processes in your organisation. And don’t forget to visit our website to access our learning resources relating to many of the themes identified in this review.

Thanks for listening; we hope that you’ve found this brief overview of our Provider Learning Review useful.