Safeguarding Adults Procedures

23 Section 42 enquiry criteria not met The circumstances in which the criteria for a statutory enquiry are not met will be as follows:  The adult is at risk of abuse or neglect but does not have care & support needs,  The adult has care and support needs and may have experienced abuse or neglect in the past, but is no longer experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect,  The adult has care and support needs, is at risk of abuse or neglect, but can protect themselves from abuse or neglect should they choose to do so, Essentially in these circumstances the local authority will adopt a case management approach. They will tell the person raising the concern that it is not a Section 42 matter and discuss options with the adult at risk such as signposting or referral to relevant services. The local authority may offer an assessment of care and support needs which could prevent deterioration and promote independence, health and wellbeing. It is possible the safeguarding team have determined there is still a potential risk to the person, for example in relation to drug or alcohol misuse or because of self-neglect, and it could be helpful to call a multi-agency risk management (MARM) meeting. This will enable the agencies involved, and the person themselves, to assess and plan to manage the risks identified. https://www.bcpsafeguardingadultsboard.com/the-workforce.html#marm-guidance Who is to take action It is important to get the person’s account and a sense of what they want to happen. Notwithstanding this, the Local Authority will also need to decide if a Section 42 enquiry is required. If this is the case, there are a range of options about who can undertake the enquiry. There are several key roles to be agreed. First the Local Authority will allocate a ‘Safeguarding Adult Practitioner’ (SAP). This person will be the safeguarding case worker who fulfils the council’s responsibilities for coordinating and monitoring the Safeguarding enquiry. Second the Local Authority may propose that an individual agency (or more than one) involved on a professional level, will assist with the enquiry and may take on the role of the Nominated Enquirer (NE) and associated tasks. The organisation/person/s requested to undertake tasks relating to the enquiry will also be agreed with the person concerned. See page 30 which specifies who can be an NE. The person allocated holds a discussion with the adult and/or their representative to get their views on what happened and an understanding of what outcomes and response they would like. This is where the initial Risk Assessment will be considered and safeguarding plan devised as appropriate. See Appendix 4 . The local authority retains responsibility for coordinating and monitoring the enquiry in relation to achieving the person’s desired outcomes and supporting effective risk management. There are options about who has the discussion with the adult/ representative. This will usually be the person within the organisation or service who is best placed to do this or who knows the person best. Where this does not apply or it is not appropriate due to risks and concerns, a social worker, a member of the safeguarding service or another professional who is involved with the care of the adult will be nominated. The Local Authority SAP could also be the NE in these circumstances. Consideration must be given about whether an adult has substantial difficulty in participating in the Adult Safeguarding enquiry and there is no other appropriate person to represent them. In