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Guidance and Resources

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.

This section is updated regularly as and when new guidance is published.

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 7-minute briefing: Adult Death Protocol provides an overview of the protocol and has been produced as a concise guide for practitioners and managers.

To make a referral to the ADP, please complete the Adult Death Protocol Referral Form and email to the relevant Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub noted in the referral form.

What is advocacy?

Advocacy is empowering people to have a voice and making a real difference to their lives by speaking for them when they can’t and supporting them to speak for themselves when they can.

How can an advocate help?

An advocate can help a person to:

  • speak up for themselves or give their views
  • understand the process they are going through, their rights and what choices are available to them
  • be part of an important decision which is being made about them
  • prepare for and take part in meetings and tribunals
  • raise queries or concerns
  • access information in the format which is most suitable
  • access services that can support them

Advocates can also provide information and signpost people to other helpful services.

Advocacy in East Sussex

In East Sussex POhWER provides Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy, including Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Relevant Paid Persons Representative. We also provide Independent Mental Health Advocacy, including Community Mental Health Advocacy, Advocacy under the Care Act, Children’s Advocacy and Independent Community Advocacy.

To find out more about the different types of advocacy, see the POhWER webpage which outlines both statutory and non-statutory advocacy.

How do I make a referral to get support from an advocate?

To make a referral to the advocacy services in East Sussex, you can download the forms from the POhWER website.

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 Three Sussex SABs have produced the Safeguarding Adults Thresholds Guidance  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 to assist in identifying whether abuse and or neglect is taking place, and if a safeguarding concern needs to be referred to the local authority or whether alternative actions should be considered

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 Sussex 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.

This Mental Capacity Toolkit  has been created to help support health and social care professionals working with individuals whose decision-making capacity is limited, fluctuating, absent or compromised. Demographic changes mean there are increasing numbers of people living with conditions which may impact on their decision-making capacity, and as such it is vital that professionals are confident in their understanding use of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This tool brings together information from a range of professionals working in the field of mental capacity to provide a comprehensive guide to practice. It is part of a wider research project funded by the Burdett Trust for Nurses.

This  Multi-Agency Modern Slavery Guidance is intended to raise awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking amongst partner agencies of the East Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB), and ensure that agencies can recognise modern slavery and have the confidence to report suspected cases.

It is intended to be used in conjunction with each agency’s internal pathways and procedures, and with regard to the Sussex Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures. The Care Act 2014 includes modern slavery as a type of abuse, as well as being a serious crime, therefore, managing cases of modern slavery is closely linked to safeguarding adults procedures.

You can also access our short 7 minute podcast and accompanying presentation that provides information on common issues on Modern Slavery within East Sussex and how to access guidance on reporting it.

A review of the Multi Agency Risk Management (MARM) was concluded in April 2024. The following briefing highlights the key components of the review and the findings: MARM Review Briefing

The Multi-Agency Risk Management (MARM) Protocol has been designed to provide guidance for practitioners working with 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:

  • Timely information sharing and holistic risk assessment
  • Shared decision making and responsibility for managing risk
  • The identification of a clear lead agency or practitioner
  • Improved involvement and engagement with adults, which leads to improved outcomes.

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.

To make a referral to the MARM Group please complete the Multi-Agency Risk Management (MARM) Group Referral Form.  An agency’s risk assessment (or the risk assessment in the referral form) must be completed and submitted to the MARM with each referral.

Referrals should be sent by secure email to MARM@eastsussex.gov.uk

 

The Partnership Protocol 2022 - 24 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:

  • A Self Neglect Briefing was developed following the publication of the Adult A SAR and provides an overview of self-neglect, how to raise concerns and how to manage complex cases and ensure effective multi-agency responses.
  • This Self-Neglect Audit Learning Briefing summarises the findings and learning outcomes of an audit exploring multi-agency responses to self-neglect.

The Brighton & Hove and East Sussex Safeguarding Adults Boards have worked with a range of partner agencies across both the statutory and non-statutory sectors to develop an updated and expanded multi-agency Responding to Hoarding Behaviour Framework that replaces the previous multi-agency Hoarding Framework.

This updated framework is not intended to place requirements on organisations. It provides guidance that promotes a person-centred and strengths-based approach in responding to hoarding behaviour and ensuring the person’s views and preferred outcomes are central throughout. It encourages professionals to consider a range of potential steps and actions, along with useful resources, and includes key legislation and pan-Sussex SAB protocols.

The framework is in three separate parts:

Incidents between adults in a service can include any interaction between two or more adults in any setting. It can involve physical, psychological, or emotional, sexual, financial, or discriminatory abuse or behaviour, which results in the risk of harm, or actual harm.

This local guidance: Responding to Incidents of Harm between Adults at Risk in a Provider Setting  provides advice on:

  • Provider responsibilities
  • Actions that can be taken to support and protect both the adult at risk and the alleged person thought to be the cause of risk
  • Preventing incidents between adults at risk
  • When to raise a safeguarding concern and report a possible crime
  • How the Local Authority will respond when a safeguarding concern is raised with them

 Professional Curiosity Toolkit – sharing learning and improving practice

This resource pack aims to raise awareness of professional curiosity and how being professionally curious is necessary to fully understand a situation and the risks an adult may face, which are not always immediately obvious.

The expectation is for practitioners to share the resource pack and use it:
• in team meetings
• as part of group/individual supervision or for your own development

You can look at it as a whole or dip in or out of it at your convenience.

The  East Sussex Multi-Agency Transition to Adulthood Protocol 2024  sets out a commitment, from the partner agencies of the East Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board (ESSAB) and the East Sussex Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (ESSCP), that a vulnerable young person’s transition experience is positive, safe, and coordinated.

The protocol helps to ensure that all professionals, involved in the transition of vulnerable young people into adulthood, is clear about their specific role and responsibilities, so that they can work together in partnership with young people, parents, carers, and personal advisors to support the young person at the centre of this process.

Principles for joint working in transition to adulthood

The protocol sets out six key principles for joint working:

  • Principle 1 Planning and decision making is carried out in a person-centred and collaborative way. Young people are supported to share their views
  • Principle 2 Support is timely, planned, and coordinated with relevant services and organisations
  • Principle 3 There are clear processes and adequate resources to support a vulnerable young person’s transition
  • Principle 4 Professionals are enabled to respond flexibly to a young person’s vulnerabilities within service eligibility criteria rather than be constrained by service eligibility criteria.
  • Principle 5 The young person and their family/carers have access to the information they need and it is shared appropriately
  • Principle 6 Professionals use trauma informed practice and approaches when working with vulnerable young

Pledges by agencies

As part of the development of the protocol, the East Sussex SCP and SAB asked agencies to set out their ‘pledge’ to principles of joint working in transition to adulthood. Below are some of the pledges:

Adult Social Care and Health (ASCH)  pledge:

To commit to the six principles outlined above for every young person’s transition to ASCH. East Sussex County Council  will also use the above principles as part of a review of the current transitions service, being undertaken jointly with Children’s services, to align ourselves with the key aims of Preparing for Adulthood, These commitments and actions will be monitored through governance routes in ESCC with updates presented to the Safeguarding Adult’s Board. This Protocol will be shared with our workforce through local team meetings, internal communications to all staff and through our Safeguarding Steering Group.

East Sussex Police Safeguarding Investigation Unit pledge:

To utilise trauma informed practice when investigating crimes where a vulnerable young person is the victim and to share information with partner agencies in a timely manner in order to support them in their areas of business. This will be monitored and reviewed through feedback at the SAB meetings.

Brighton and East Sussex Probation pledge:

Transition from youth to adult in the Criminal Justice System poses many challenges for the young adult. As such we commit to the six principles, to aid the transition process. We further have a specific agreement and secondment arrangement with Youth Justice Services to ensure a seamless and safe process is in place to support children as they move to adulthood. We commit to review and provide governance to our commitment through the Reducing Reoffending Boards and SAB meetings.