Safeguarding Adult and Mental Capacity Act Specialist

Job responsibilities

Analyse highly complex information and situations and provide judgements as to a range of options, deciding on best action to ensure the optimum outcome for the adults, their families and carers, supporting staff to make person-centred safety plans.

Advise 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 their learning and understanding back. 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 make recommendations to the service on actions required.

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 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.

Partnership Working

External:

To attend any external meetings and networks, for example, sub groups of LSABs, Clinical Commissioning Group Cluster, regional, London or national meetings and represent CNWL as the nominated person as agreed by the Director of Nursing for the relevant Division and the Head of Social Work and Social Care/Safeguarding Adult Lead.

To work in collaboration with the relevant Local Safeguarding Adults Boards (LSAB) and in line with jointly agreed LSAB priorities. Work closely with the LSAB CNWL representative to ensure that they have all relevant information prior to attending local meetings.

Work together with the Safeguarding Adults Lead, other Specialists, the LA Safeguarding Lead and the CCG Designated Nurse for Adult Safeguarding & Clinical Quality Manager to promote best practice. Feedback on key messages to the service and propose changes to practice/local policies when required.

Represent the Trust at Channel meetings (where required) and ensure mandatory Prevent training is available and accessible (e-learning), delivering training when required (face to face).

To develop excellent communication links and provide effective liaison between CNWL and partner agencies concerning local and national priorities for MCA and Deprivation of Liberty (DoLS)/Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) issues. Where required, to liaise with Local Authorities within their remit as the Supervisory Body for DoLS.

Internal:

To liaise effectively and maintain positive working relationships with staff at all levels of the organisation.

To attend and represent your Division/services at internal meetings on the Safeguarding Adults agenda (SAMCAT, Divisional Safeguarding meetings and quality forums).

To work with corporate services (for example, Human Resources, Information Governance) when required in individual complex cases.

To be an active member of local meetings concerned with improving quality and a focus on patient safety, including but not exclusively, Care Quality Meetings, Action Plans/Improvement Plans monitoring groups and ward based Datix Huddles/Clinical Indicators meetings. Promote the understanding of safeguarding and MCA at these meetings. Be responsible for identifying safeguarding and MCA trends, addressing remedial action as required and providing follow up.

To contribute to the SAMCAT reflective practice forums and to take the lead in establishing local reflective practice forums and/or Champions Groups and providing informal supervision to individuals and teams, building frontline level safeguarding expertise.

In the absence of the Trust Head/Deputy of Safeguarding Adults to chair the SAMCAT meeting on rotation with other colleagues. To provide cover for Safeguarding Adults colleagues as required

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse/Social Worker/ Allied Health Professional
• Educated or working towards Degree level of expert practice
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development with relevant further qualifications.

Desirable

• Enquiry Officer and / or Safeguarding Adults Managers training
• Teaching Qualification

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of teaching others and evaluating learning
• Involvement in planning and delivery of training packages.
• Experience of working across professional and organisational boundaries
• Experience in undertaking clinical audit and Quality Improvement projects
• Experience of the use of systems to report and review incidents
• Experience of compiling and presenting reports for multiagency and multi-level audiences

Desirable

• Experience of staff management and supervision

Skills and knowledge

Essential

• Detailed expert knowledge of key statutory responsibilities and national policy relating to safeguarding, MCA and other relevant policies
• Ability to work in a person-centred way, demonstrating the principles underpinning safeguarding practice (MSP)
• Relevant knowledge of substance misuse, offender care, sexual health and/or community health, mental health, learning disability services (dependent on post applied to)
• Understanding of governance/risk and reporting systems and processes in organisational and multi-agency context
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills including the ability to give clear advice and guidance to staff, negotiate and resolve conflict, and the development of written guidelines and procedures
• Ability to be able to present information effectively in a format which is easily understood by a wide range of staff
• Be able to influence and negotiate with senior managers and clinicians
• Ability to analyse and process complex information and conflicting priorities/opinions
• Able to motivate and drive improved performance with colleagues
• Effective IT skills and ability to use systems to aid performance
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to deal with conflicting demands

Attitudes, aptitudes, personal characteristics

Essential

• Trustworthy and possessing integrity
• Committed and determined
• Adaptable and flexible
• Employing tact and diplomacy where required
• Personal credibility and presence
• Independent and self-motivated
• Able to be flexible in relation to hours worked and locations worked

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).