Job responsibilities
The postholder will provide leadership and assurance across the field of adult safeguarding, working closely with other specialists, including named and designated professionals.
The postholder will lead all activities in their identified locality/service areas to ensure that the Directorate/areas of responsibility meet their safeguarding responsibilities, so that Safeguarding Adults is seen as paramount and a culture of dignity and safeguarding is embedded across the organisation, in line with Making Safeguarding Personal.
Safeguarding is everyones responsibility. Whatever your role within the Trust, the welfare of children and vulnerable adults should be your paramount consideration. In cases of suspected abuse or neglect, the duty of care that a member of CNWL staff owes will take precedence over any obligation to a parent or other adult.
All members of CNWL staff who have contact with service users, or their families, should be familiar with guidance on Safeguarding Children and Adults from their own Professional Body, the Trust and Multi-Agency Safeguarding Procedures. Staff are also required to attend mandatory training on safeguarding.
As an NHS Trust, we strongly encourage and support vaccination, as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues, and, of course, patients and service users when working in our healthcare settings.
To provide clinical expertise within the Division/areas of responsibility, offering consultancy at Board and frontline practice level, on all aspects of safeguarding adults, the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and Prevent issues.
To be aware of enquiries into concerns regarding adult abuse under the Care Act (2014), ensuring staff are supported in managing concerns/enquiries applying expert knowledge and experience and demonstrate that all advice is underpinned by relevant theory and evidence-based research and in exceptional cases, undertake these enquiries and attend strategy meetings, where appropriate.
Ensure each service has systems and processes in place to safeguard adults at risk (in line with the Care Act (2014)), working with partner agencies in line with Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) legislation and statutory guidance.
Provide professional safeguarding leadership in complex, high-risk, uncertain, ambiguous, or conflicting situations, ensuring adults at risk are protected from harm while respecting and protecting their human rights.
Communicate a range of highly complex, sensitive and contentious topics to a range of professionals in varying situations.
Analyse highly complex information and situations, and provide judgements on a range of options, deciding on the best action to ensure the optimum outcome for adults, their families and carers, and supporting staff to develop person-centred safety plans.
Advice on Duty of Candour in safeguarding related incidents.
Be involved in complex safeguarding enquiries and ensure any lessons learnt from SARs, DHRs and local Learning Reviews are shared with the SAMCAT group and are widely disseminated across the Division and Trust.
To work closely with the Trusts Childrens Safeguarding Team/Named Professionals to develop best practice, for example, the Think Family approach, ensuring consistency of practice in relation to safeguarding across the organisation.
To contribute to the Serious Case Review Panels or Learning Lesson Reviews and undertake an internal management review, when required, maintaining a log of Serious Adult Reviews (SARs), Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) and Maternal Death Reviews (MDRs) in the Division. Be an active member (when appropriate), at times taking the lead, in the implementation of complex case review recommendations.
To raise with Senior Management any key risks, issues and concerns relating to safeguarding practice in your locality/service areas.
To lead on the Prevent agenda within your locality/service areas by being the point of contact for the Police Counter Terrorism Policing Unit and Prevent colleagues, in relation to patients about whom they have concerns.
To act as the local decision maker with regard to whether frontline professionals need to make a Prevent referral, in collaboration with the Trust Prevent Lead and senior colleagues when required.
To design, develop and deliver training sessions on Safeguarding Adults, MCA and Prevent in line with the Intercollegiate Document on Safeguarding Roles and Responsibilities and Skills for Health, in line with the Trusts expectations.
Tailor training to meet the needs of participants, seeking feedback and evaluation, ensuring staff can reflect on their learning and understanding. Reviewing and updating training packages as required.
Participate in multi-agency research and evaluation, practice and service development.
To lead on providing annual team based training supporting staff to ensure that all staff have the key skills and knowledge required based on expert, evidence-based best practice.
To review Datix incident forms that reference safeguarding and provide recommendations to the service on necessary actions.
To support the Head of Safeguarding Adults in the review and development of policies that relate to safeguarding and MCA.
To facilitate the provision of a helpful and respectful service to patients, relatives and carers by providing an accessible, responsive point of reference in relation to safeguarding adults, MCA and DoLS, and Prevent, upholding the principles of the Care Act and Mental Capacity Act in all communications.
To ensure that each relevant team area has a DoLS tracker and to be responsible for monitoring that this is kept up to date and in line with statutory duties. As part of meeting the Trust's statutory duties, ensure that staff have the required knowledge and skills to maintain the DoLS trackers
To interpret national policy and guidance, case law or new legislation into local strategies and policies and take responsibility for updating own knowledge and keeping abreast of changes to practice through case law and legislative changes and take a lead to implement within the relevant Division
To have an in depth knowledge of the relevant Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures, Care Act statutory duties and other local NHS and Local Authority organisations Safeguarding Adults policies and procedures, and promote understanding within the Division.
