This section of the website contains a range of resources, policy, guidance and toolkit documents produced by the East Sussex SAB, partner agencies of the SAB or other national organisations.
Some documents have been produced in conjunction with Brighton & Hove and West Sussex SABs.
The Sussex Adult Death Protocol outlines the process that should be followed in responding to situations in which 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, and rapid risk assessment and information sharing.
This protocol has been developed across the Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs) and will be adopted by all partner agencies of the Sussex SABs. The Sussex Adult Death Protocol Learning Briefing provides an overview of the protocol and has been produced as a concise guide for practitioners and managers.
The Multi-Agency Domestic Abuse Guidance has been developed to support practitioners who work with adults who are at risk of or experiencing domestic abuse. It provides a framework for a consistent and effective response to tackling this complex area of safeguarding practice.
No single agency can address all the needs of people affected by or perpetrating domestic abuse. For intervention to be effective, it is crucial that agencies work together in partnership to take timely action and adopt a shared responsibility for assessing and managing risk.
The Sussex Safeguarding Adults Escalation and Resolution Protocol provides a process for resolving disagreements between agencies or professionals in relation to adult safeguarding.
The East Sussex SAB has developed the following multi-agency guidance and accompanying documents to support practitioners in achieving co-ordinated multi-agency responses to financial abuse and to improve engagement and achieve positive outcomes for adults who experience financial abuse.
The East Sussex SAB has produced Guidance on Raising Concerns about Abuse and Neglect to assist practitioners and providers across all agencies in considering risk relating to potential safeguarding concerns involving adults with care and support needs.
It aims to enable safeguarding concerns to be reported when it is appropriate to do so and that they are responded to in a consistent way. It provides a framework for multi-agency partners to manage risk and assists in differentiating between quality issues and safeguarding.
Supplementary guidance has been developed in relation to three specific areas:
The Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) have produced frameworks which support consistent multi-agency practice in relation to understanding, reporting and recording of safeguarding concerns, and guidance around whether or not a reported concern requires an enquiry under the section 42 duty of the Care Act 2014.
The Information Sharing Guide and Protocol sets out how information between partner agencies of the Sussex SABs should be shared for the purposes of safeguarding adults.
This document includes good practice guidance around record keeping and information sharing within safeguarding meetings and discussions.
A Information Sharing Guide and Protocol Learning Briefing has been produced to provide an overview of the protocol, practice questions for teams to consider and links to other relevant resources.
Research in practice have published useful guidance on the Inherent Jurisdiction of the High Court which aims to support health and social care practitioners, including those who work in adult safeguarding, to understand the circumstances in which the use of inherent jurisdiction may be appropriate.
Inherent jurisdiction describes the power that the High Court has to make orders and grant injunctions in particular situations where there is no other power to intervene in law. Inherent jurisdiction protects adults who do not lack mental capacity, but are vulnerable because of some sort of abuse, neglect, undue influence or coercion.
The East Sussex SAB has produced Making Safeguarding Personal Guidance which includes positive case studies and links to national resources. It also contains information for practitioners on how to respond to situations in which there are difficulties in seeing an individual alone and there is a concern or suspicion that another person may be preventing this or the adult is experiencing undue influence or coercion.
Our website also has a dedicated MSP page with further national resources and toolkits.
The East Sussex Mental Capacity Multi-Agency Policy and Procedures have been developed to provide guidance on the understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and its application in practice across partner agencies of the SAB.
The Multi-Agency Risk Management (MARM) Protocol has been designed to provide guidance for practitioners on working adults with multiple complex needs and managing cases in which there is a high level of risk, but the circumstances may sit outside the statutory safeguarding framework. The MARM process aims to bring agencies together to provide a more effective, multi-agency coordinated response to facilitate:
Supplementary guidance has been produced to support professionals in identifying, assessing and supporting people with multiple complex needs:
The MARM Protocol and supplementary guidance above should be read in conjunction with the Sussex Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures as well as the Information Sharing Guide and Protocol and the Guidance on Raising Concerns about Abuse and Neglect.
To make a referral to the MARM Group please complete the Multi-Agency Risk Management (MARM) Group Referral Form and also ensure a risk assessment is submitted with the referral. Referrals should be sent by secure email to MARM@eastsussex.gov.uk
The Partnership Protocol 2021 - 22 sets out the commitment across the strategic partnership boards in East Sussex, including the Safeguarding Adults Board, the Safeguarding Children Partnership, the Safer Communities Partnership, the Children and Young Peoples Trust and the Health and Wellbeing Board. These partnerships are committed to ensuring that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and to working together at every level to keep people in East Sussex safe from harm and abuse, and to improve health and wellbeing.
The Sussex Multi-Agency Procedures to Support Adults who Self-Neglect are contained within the Sussex Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures.
The procedures take account of learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) involving cases of self-neglect and sets out a framework for collaborate partnership working when supporting adults who are experiencing self-neglect.
The SAB has developed two learning briefings which focus on self-neglect:
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service have developed a Multi-Agency Hoarding Framework which sets aims to ensure that anyone coming into contact or working with someone who is hoarding has an awareness of the tools and resources available.
Agenda and minutes templates have also been developed for use in multi-agency meetings relating to cases involving self-neglect. These templates will help professionals ensure that the key issues relating to self-neglect are considered and recorded in self-neglect meetings and are a useful aid to effective planning.
