“Why didn’t we do this before?” the development of Making Safeguarding Personal in the London borough of Sutton

Abstract

Purpose -Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) is a national programme to increase the involvement of adults at risk in the adult safeguarding process. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach -The implementation of MSP in the London Borough of Sutton involved three areas of analysis: a quantitative analysis of 47 safeguarding cases in which adults at risk were asked what they wanted the safeguarding intervention to achieve and whether or not these outcomes had been achieved; qualitative analysis of the service users' experience of the safeguarding process using focus groups led by creative arts therapists; and interviews with social workers, team managers and administrators on their experience of the implementation of MSP. Findings -In 81 per cent of safeguarding cases, outcomes were achieved satisfactorily. The focus groups identified the importance of freedom of movement, freedom of association, being listened to and regular communication with a consistent person. The practitioner interviews identified themes of increased efficiency, increased effectiveness, empowerment; the transformation of relationships and the practice of new skills. Research limitations/implications -This research shows that focus groups led by therapists can be used to explore safety and safeguarding and supports the effectiveness of MSP in achieving person-centred outcomes. No baselines or control groups were used, so the extent of effectiveness is difficult to determine. The sample size is relatively small, so results may not be generalised. Practical implications -A number of learning points for practice are identified including how to chair and where to hold safeguarding meetings and changes to practice required to implement MSP. Originality/value -This is the first research into MSP using art, drama and music therapists to explore the experiences and view of adults at risk of safety and safeguarding.

10,000 Voices: service users’ experiences of adult safeguarding

“…The evaluation of the pilot phase identified both positive themes in current safeguarding practices and themes for service improvement. Many respondents described situations which were felt to be traumatic and confusing, although, in keeping with other studies (Hopkinson et al , 2015), respondents also highlighted the value of a trusting social work relationship which enabled safe choices to be made. Whilst the large majority of respondents felt safer at the end of the investigation, consideration was given to the experiences of the minority who did not feel safer.…”

“…In this approach, the complexity of adult safeguarding processes to deliver outcomes which are valued by service users has been identified. Service users and professionals may hold differing perspectives of what constitutes a positive outcome (Hopkinson et al , 2015; Redley et al , 2015). Moreover, changing power dynamics have been identified with social workers adopting advocacy roles for adults at risk (Hopkinson et al , 2015).…”

“…Service users and professionals may hold differing perspectives of what constitutes a positive outcome (Hopkinson et al , 2015; Redley et al , 2015). Moreover, changing power dynamics have been identified with social workers adopting advocacy roles for adults at risk (Hopkinson et al , 2015).…”

Implementation of the Making Safeguarding Personal Approach to Strengths-based Adult Social Care: Systematic Review of Qualitative Research Evidence

“…The assessed quality of the MSP studies is shown in our Supplementary Appendix. Two were assessed as being of overall 'good' quality (Hopkinson et al, 2015;Cooper et al, 2016Cooper et al, , 2018Briggs and Cooper, 2018), with the others judged as 'poor'. All provided a clear research question and used appropriate study designs to answer them, while recruiting an adequate sample from an appropriate population.…”

Making Safeguarding Personal: progress of English local authorities

“…There is now a growing literature base for the subsequent development of personalised social care into adult safeguarding policy and practice; see Preston-shoot and Cooper (2015) for an overview and Cooper and White (2017) for the current state of MSP practice. However, there is little research as yet into the direct effect of MSP on service users other than very small localised studies, for example, Hopkinson et al (2015), which found an 81 per cent satisfactory achievement of user outcomes but on a very limited sample of 47 cases. Similarly, there has been very little research on the impact on social workers' effectiveness; see Needham (2015) for an example which found there was a need for changes to training and recording systems to embed MSP in a local authority.…”