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Introducing Erik Sutherland...
Hi,
My name is Erik Sutherland and I'm Head of Locality Health and Care. I've worked in health and care since 1996/97 and have been with East Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership since 2014.
My role
I'm responsible for the leadership, strategic direction and delivery of a variety of services. Some of the key areas of service within Locality Health and Care which are relevant to the work of the Adult Protection Committee are the teams for:
- Adult Concern Initial Response
- Locality Social Work
- Hospital
- Residential Review
- Frontdoor Services
Protecting People is truly one of those things that is everyone's business!
Linking to Adult Protection
In that respect there's a long list of care and support services that link to the work of the Adult Protection Committee. It's important that everyone can see their contribution to the Committee's agenda and have protecting people equally on their agenda.
What we cover
Our service includes:
- Care at home
- Community nursing
- Community equipment and adaptations
- Intermediate care
- Older adults mental health
Locality Health and Care also extends to:
- East Ayrshire Community Hospital
- Community alarms
- Occupational therapy
- Day opportunities
- Sensory impairment
- Moving and handling telecare
We also cover care and support commissioned with delivery partners such as care homes and Red Cross Home from Hospital.
All of these services have a role to play in Protecting People.
What I do in the Adult Protection Committee
My role in the Adult Protection Committee is to represent that range of services that I am responsible for in the work of the Committee. I very much see this as a learning and improvement agenda, collaborating with all partners around the table at the Adult Protection Committee to ensure the people in our communities are as safe and protected as they can be.
Lived experience
The Committee has a renewed focus on lived experience and this is something that motivates me in my role - where we hear the personal stories of people our teams support and how we work together to deliver positive outcomes.
Health and Wellbeing
Health and Social Care is an extremely rewarding vocation. It can also be fast-moving and emotionally intense. That's why paying attention to wellbeing for our teams and ourselves is so important. My preferences for any downtime are reading, music, walking and spending time with my family.
Erik
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Introducing Jo Gibson...
Hi,
My name is Jo Gibson. I have been with East Ayrshire since February 2021, having worked in a range of posts in Scotland and England over the past 25 years. I am passionate about improving services for people, by people.
My role
I am privileged to hold the role of Head of Wellbeing and Recovery for East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership. It is a very wide role, and, a little like protection, "wellbeing" is everyone's business too. I have lead responsibility for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Alcohol and Drug Services.
Our teams are made up of a range of passionate professionals, from a wide variety of backgrounds, and we work really closely with other partners, such as the voluntary sector, police and specialist services.
Many of the people we support are vulnerable to harm from other people, and sometimes from themselves. That is why the work of the Adult Protection Committee is so important in guiding us on best practice and legislation in supporting people and in ensuring we learn from any reviews of situations where care was not as effective as it could have been.
Human rights
Respecting Human Rights is fundamental to all our work, so working together to find the best balance of supporting the independence and empowerment, as well as the safety of individuals, is paramount.
Joined up approach to support empowerment and Independence
In my wider role I also have responsibility for a range of Health and Social Care Partnership wide teams which include the teams for:
- Planning and Performance
- Thinking Differently
- Financial Inclusion
These teams of caring and creative people support work across the partnership to enable people to live as independently as possible, and to ensure we are constantly learning and improving whilst focusing on our shared strategy.
"...The more experienced and older I become in my career, the more I realise that it's only through supporting others, and relinquishing power, whilst retaining accountability that real change can happen..."
In my spare time...
When not at work I like to walk on the beach in the beautiful Ayrshire village of West Kilbride, I spend time with my 3 children, not to mention my 2 dogs, 2 cats and 4 chickens. I also dabble a bit as an amateur and below average oil painter.
Jo
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Happy hellos...
It was great to welcome Craig Donnelly, Local Authority Liaison Officer for Scottish Fire and Rescue. Craig replaces Gary Tait and will continue to promote ASP awareness across his service and has already joined our sub groups to support the improvement and engagement work being undertaken.
We were also joined by Catherine Robertson, Interim ASP Lead Officer, NHS, a well known face in the world of Child Protection who is taking the reins for Ann McArthur, ASP Lead Officer, Public Protection Services in NHS Ayrshire and Arran who is taking time to work on the development of the Public Protection Service.
Mhairi McCandless, Service Manager in Wellbeing and Recovery has recently joined us and attended her first Committee Development Session in October 2023 which she found extremely beneficial.
Fond farewells...
We sadly have to say goodbye to Linda Surgenor, Senior Manager in Wellbeing and Recovery who retired following our November Committee. Thank you Linda for your contribution to keeping people safe and protected. We wish you well in your retirement.
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We are delighted that thanks to the hard work and commitment of partners and all of you out there involved in this work, our plan is now over half way to completion at 52%, Quite an achievement in challenging times so well done !
We took time to learn about the great work going on out there which is helping to make a difference. This included the increasing number of people coming forward for the Independent Advocacy Lived Experience Project and having their voice heard with Neill and Maggie out and about on the frontline promoting this.
Safe Spaces initiative
David Murray from Scottish Fire and Rescue informed us of the progress made to date regarding the 'Safe Spaces' initiative. This brilliant resource is being rolled out in Cumnock, Kilwinning and Ayr. The fire stations will open to anyone, and will provide a safe space to those who require just that. There will be access to food, a hot drink and a telephone with support network contact details also available.
Reconnecting
Multi Agency Staff report early signs of improvement in feeling reconnected post Covid-19 and benefiting from efforts being made to improve communication. Fraser Spence reported police meeting and exceeding their targets for attending ASP Case Conferences. The Multi agency Audit for ASP in February 2024 brings opportunities to be involved as file readers in the team, staff always tell us they thoroughly enjoy and learn so much about self-evaluation but more importantly about each other.
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We have had a very interactive, busy meeting this last month where we are working towards our action plan for the year. The group leading on APC week have met to have a "quick think" for some ideas for maximum impact……watch this space!
We are advertising for persons with lived experience of ASP procedures to inform our current conversations around creating a User Led Panel to meet before each of our Core Meetings to inform how we go about our work making sure its reflective of what is happening in the real world and how Local Authority and Partners interventions are managed. The group are excited and invigorated coming up to the Christmas season and looking forward to the (quickly!) approaching New Year.
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Adult L
The Significant Case Review (published June 2022) in relation to Adult L made a number of recommendations in relation to comprehensive assessment, the review of allocation practices, clarifying thresholds for escalation for those that refer concerns, working with Primary Care to address some specific recommendations around reasonable adjustments to communication, and the recognition of the impact of housing conditions on people's health. An Improvement Plan was agreed following the publication of the SCR and dissemination of the findings to the relevant workforce.
Some of the key improvements made include:
- Addressing allocation and meaningful engagement in support of planning at an individual level
- Review of wider allocation practices, including the application of review, transfer and case closure procedures
- Investment in the workforce of a specific team
- Multi-disciplinary workshops and establishment of communities of practice
- Development of a Dispute Resolution Policy for Adult Support and Protection
- Reinforcing information sharing and the importance of housing on people's wellbeing
- Addressing risks arising from a lack of contact with services in risk frameworks and in communication with primary care.
Adult N
A number of key improvements arose from the Initial Case Review for Adult N. Themes included strengthening of knowledge of
- Significant Occurrence Forms
- Large Scale Inquiry Procedures
- escalation and communication within and across services
Identification and assessment of risk, audit of practice and staff training were specific areas of focus, with accompanying practice guidance and Liquidlogic system changes being implemented.
Multi-disciplinary working and working knowledge of medication guidelines were also noted as areas for improvement.
 Relevant links to key social work documents are available for Social Work Staff:
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East Ayrshire Addiction and Recovery Service redesign
East Ayrshire Addiction and Recovery Service changed significantly in the past few years, not least in responding to specific requirements in the Scottish Government's Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards: access, choice and support as published in May 2021.
The service has undertaken much work with the introduction of Rapid Access to Drug and Alcohol Recovery (RADAR), ensuring quick access to treatment and support.
The service came under significant strain both throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic and due to the political spotlight on Scottish drug deaths.
Staff reported large caseloads together with high levels of staff absence and turnover. It was determined that the service would benefit from an analysis of the situation.
Service review
A commissioned service review was carried out, commencing in May 2023, which looked at a range of key documents and held interviews and discussions with staff, partner agencies, service users and ADP members. The review concluded in August 2023 and from this a list of recommendations were proposed for the service to consider.
At this time there is a project implementation plan devised to progress the recommendations around the Addiction and Recovery Service redesign.
Steering group
A steering group was put in place made up of Addiction and Recovery Service staff, Health and Social Care Partnership staff, partner agencies, ADP members and representation from the lived experience panel to oversee the implementation of the recommendations, with the steering group reporting to the ADP Advisory Group and updating the Strategic Commissioning Board.
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East Ayrshire Council Housing
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The Housing Service's Tenant Support Fund opened in mid-July 2023. It aims to mitigate the challenges being experienced by tenants as a result of the cost of living crisis.
The fund will help Housing Services to prevent homelessness and sustain tenancies by directly alleviating rent arrears, providing fuel support and, in exceptional circumstances direct financial assistance to tenants.
Open to all
This Fund is open to all Council tenants and it's aimed particularly at people with rent arrears who are at risk, either now or in the near future, of losing their home where Notice of Intent, Court Action or Decree has been served.
For those most at risk of fuel poverty, the fund will provide assistance to alleviate fuel debt through our partner Lemon-Aid and we will continue to provide funding through the fund throughout this winter.
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Public Protection Conference "No Closed Door - Protecting and Connecting People" |
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The Protection and Learning Team held their first Public Protection Conference on 6 September 2023 "No Closed Door - Protecting and Connecting People".
This event was targeted for frontline practitioners and included three Spotlight Sessions based on three areas of good practice and resources that exist locally.
These were MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference), ProTECHting People Digital Resources promoting safeguarding for individuals, the workforce and communities, and the work on Hearing the Voices of those with Lived Experience.
A further four conversation cafes were held looking at Public Protection and Safeguarding across all four Committees and Partnerships entitled:
These sessions provided an opportunity for multi-agency staff to respect, explore and safely challenge how they worked together around a number of emerging practice themes, share learning and examples of good practice, while supporting staff wellbeing.
 Read more about the event:
Practitioner event focuses on protecting people - Living Well East Ayrshire.
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