Adult Protection Monitoring Report Published, Wales

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Also Included In: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 01 Apr 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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The Care and Social Services Inspectorate (CSSIW) has today published its annual monitoring report on the performance of Welsh Local Authorities in relation to adult protection.

The report identifies a continuing increase in the number of adult protection referrals and specifically highlights the variation in activity across Wales. It raises issues about practice and outcomes for service users. It is likely that the increase in referrals reflects in part the greater awareness of adult protection issues by service users, their families, staff working with vulnerable adults and the wider community.

Another key finding of the report is that the majority of referrals concern those aged 65 and over and a significant proportion of these referrals were from care homes.

Rob Pickford, Chief Inspector of Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, said: "It is not acceptable for any individual to suffer abuse. A growing number of adults in Wales are receiving the help that they need through referral for protection from abuse but variations in activity and reporting arrangements across Wales need further investigation and action.

"The protection of vulnerable people is a core concern for the Inspectorate. Our planned national review and inspection of adult protection in Wales in 2009/10 will get behind the data in the monitoring report to assess the quality of outcomes for vulnerable people and make recommendations for further improvement."

The Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas, welcomed today's publication and commented: "Our understanding of how we can all best protect adults has come a long way but is still at a relatively early stage of development. I have established an Adult Protection Project Group made up of all the key stakeholders across Wales to ensure that a full and open debate about how these matters should be addressed is underway. The Group will receive the report of an independent review of In Safe Hands in September and then consider what further steps should be taken to promote further improvement. In the interim we will be issuing shortly good practice guidance on preventing financial abuse from paid workers."

The CSSIW annual monitoring report has been produced following an analysis of monitoring data submitted by each local authority to the local government data unit. This is the first year in which the report has benefited from an electronic data collection system made available to all local authorities and implemented by the majority of them.

Notes

In Safe Hands, published in 2000, is the Welsh Assembly Government's framework guidance to local authorities on developing and implementing local arrangements for the protection of vulnerable adults.

Care and Social Services Inspectorate

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