West Midlands scheme to safeguard vulnerable adults gains momentum

Coventry is the latest city to sign up to the West Midlands Regional Safeguarding Network, founded as part of a drive to make policies and procedures consistent across the region on matters relating to the protection of vulnerable adults who are judged to be at high risk of abuse.

Councillors from Coventry City Council agree with those from Wolverhampton and Solihull who have already signed up to the Network, that too much differentiation in the approach to safeguarding vulnerable adults can result in confusion.

Chair of the city’s adult safeguarding board, Brian Walsh, hopes to see more councils and public services sign up to the initiative, saying: “The main statutory agencies – such as local councils, the police and NHS organisations – need to work together both to promote safer communities to prevent harm and abuse and to deal well with suspected or actual cases.

“That is why we have come together and we believe that adults at risk are best protected when procedures between statutory agencies are consistent across the West Midlands region.

“The new policy and procedures are all about consistency and making sure that we're not working to different policies in different areas. “There wasn't anything wrong with the way that individual areas were doing things beforehand, but we want to ensure that people across the West Midlands can be confident that the way they will be treated in one area will be the same as another.”

Signing up back in July, Sandra Ashton-Jones, of Wolverhampton’s safeguarding adults team, who is also chair of the working group who founded the initiative, spoke of the Network’s vision, saying: “We think the new policies and procedures will improve how agencies work with one another and lead to a better understanding of safeguarding across the various agencies involved. They will also reduce bureaucracy, duplication of work and, most importantly, ensure that people receive the help and support they need at a time when they need it most.

“In addition, it will strengthen the role of social workers and other professionals working with people who may have experienced abuse or neglect, secure in the knowledge that all agencies in the region are working towards the same goal; putting the individual who is at risk of harm in control and effectively at the centre of the process.”