Safeguarding Adults Procedures

132 The same responsibility for recording the resolution of the dispute must be adhered to as at the previous lower levels. 5. Formal dispute procedure If, despite following the Informal dispute resolution procedure, the disagreement remains the matter will be referred to the appropriate Adult Social Care Head of Service and equivalent within the agency with which the dispute has arisen. Escalation to this level should be made within one working day. Any email relating to the dispute must be clearly marked as “Formal escalation under the Escalation Policy”. Heads of Service and their equivalent will recognise that it is incumbent on them to determine a way forward which promotes the wellbeing of an adult at risk above all else. 6. Where disagreement remains In the most unlikely event that the practitioner disagreement remains unresolved having passed through each of the preceding stages the matter must be referred to the Director of Adult Services and their equivalent within the agency with which the dispute has arisen. Both will ensure that the Independent Chair of the local Safeguarding Adult Boards is aware of the matter within one working day. A decision at this tier of the dispute must be made within one working day and communications must be marked, as under 5. above. Also, consistent with practice at the previous stages, all decisions must be recorded and feedback about the decision will be provided without delay. Clearly there will be resolution at this point but there must also be reflection about why it was not possible to resolve the dispute at an earlier stage and what lessons there are to be learnt. In extreme cases it may be necessary to hold a multi-agency review. At this stage, as in all previous stages, the principle of dispute resolution is, as always, to ensure the wellbeing of the adult at risk. 7. Review This guidance will be reviewed within one year of implementation to try and ensure that it is working as effectively as possible.