About us
The Cheshire West and Chester Local Safeguarding Adults Board is a multi-agency partnership committee, co-ordinated by Cheshire West and Chester Council, which provides strategic leadership for adult safeguarding across the borough. It has an independent Chair and its remit is to agree objectives, set priorities and co-ordinate the strategic development of adult safeguarding. Under the previsions of the Care Act 2014 the Board is required to:
- develop and publish a strategic plan setting out how they will meet their objectives and how their member and partner agencies will contribute
- publish an Annual Report detailing how effective their work has been
- commission Safeguarding Adult Review (SARs) for any cases which meet the criteria for these and where there is opportunity for multi-agency learning
Purpose of the Board
Our overall purpose is to help and safeguard adults with care and support needs. The Board ensure that, locally, abuse is prevented and that, when it does occur, partners respond in line with the needs and wishes of the person experiencing harm.
The Board acts as a forum for agreeing how agencies should co-operate to safeguard adults at risk and ensure that local arrangements work effectively to bring about positive outcomes for local people. It is responsible for ensuring that the systems in place locally to protect people at risk are proportionate, balanced and responsive, that lessons are learned by way of safeguarding adult reviews in cases where there have been poor outcomes, and that awareness is raised in respect of abuse and what can done about it. The Board also promote collaboration between all the partners for effective communication, information sharing and awareness raising.
Working together and with adults at risk of abuse the Board aims to ensure people are:
- safe and able to protect themselves from abuse and neglect
- treated fairly and with dignity and respect
- protected when they need to be
- able to easily get the support, protection and services that they need
The Cheshire West and Chester Local Safeguarding Adults Board is governed by a Memorandum of Agreement which all agencies sign up to.
Business unit of the Board
The business unit of the Board is made up of the following:
- Independent Chair: Ian Cardwell - ian.cardwell@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- Board Manager: Dawn Lewis - dawn.lewis@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- Adult Safeguarding Unit Team Manager: Jennifer Harrison -Jennifer.harrison@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- Administrative Support: Gillian Owen - gillian.owen@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
We have three core partners who are:
- Cheshire Police
- Cheshire West and Chester Adult Social Care
- NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board
Other partners who make up the Board are:
- Age UK Cheshire
- Cheshire Fire and Rescue
- Cheshire West and Chester Public Health
- Cheshire West and Chester Elected Members
- Cheshire West and Chester Community Safety Partnership
- Cheshire West and Chester Domestic Abuse Board
- Cheshire Wirral Partnership NHS
- Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Disability Positive
- HealthWatch Cheshire West
- Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board
- National Probation Service
- North West Ambulance Service
Our strategic priorities
We will focus on three areas of equal importance, which will be our strategic priorities. We will continue to work with our partners to make sure that they are achieved.
People and outcomes
Safeguarding services are delivered effectively and professionally, with making safeguarding personal at the heart of how those services are delivered.
Systems, processes and performance
Ensuring that there are effective governance, scrutiny and business processes in place to ensure that the safety and well-being of adults who are subject to, or at risk of, abuse and neglect. This includes ensuring that the findings from safeguarding adult reviews and other key areas of practice improvement are implemented.
Partnerships and communities with care and support needs
We will promote safeguarding adults in the community by listening to their concerns and raising awareness and well-being to prevent neglect and abuse before it happens, with a particular focus on diverse, isolated and under-represented communities.
Under the Care Act 2014, Local Safeguarding Adults Boards have been strengthened and have more powers than they had previously. However, they will also be more transparent and subject to greater scrutiny. We must now:
- Decide when a Safeguarding Adult Review is necessary, arrange for its conduct and, if we so decide, implement the findings
- Publish an annual report detailing what we have done during the year, as well as report the findings of any Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) and reference any ongoing reviews
- Publish a strategic plan for each financial year that sets out how we will meet our main objective, what each member will do to implement the strategy – and, in developing the plan, consult our local Healthwatch organisation and the community.