Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2024-25

This page includes the content of the NSAB Annual Report 2024-25. You can download the full report below.

Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board, ensuring Newcastle is a safer City for adults at risk of abuse and neglect.

Introductions from our Chair and Cabinet Member

“It is with both pride and gratitude that I present the Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report for 2024–25—a year that has demonstrated the tenacity, adaptability, and collective determination of all our partners to safeguard adults at risk across the city. This report outlines the achievements of a dedicated partnership, one that has responded to evolving needs with innovation, resilience, and compassion.

Over the past year, our Board has continued to confront the complex realities of safeguarding, shaped by the ongoing impacts of social inequalities, substance misuse, domestic abuse, and exploitation.

Through the relentless efforts of each committee and agency, we have built on strong foundations to enhance practice, collaborate more, and place lived experience at the heart of everything we do.

Our Learning and Development Committee (LDC) has overseen an impressive training programme, reaching thousands of participants through e-learning and live events, and driving a significant improvement in knowledge, skills, and confidence among practitioners. We have extended our offer to seldom-heard communities, ensuring accessibility for all, and collaborated with a range of partners to enrich our safeguarding curriculum, including new courses addressing domestic abuse, unconscious bias, and stigma education.

The Strategic Exploitation Group (SEG) has refined its focus, responding proactively to emerging threats such as the criminal exploitation of vulnerable adults through illicit vapes and evolving grooming tactics. By harnessing intelligence from partners and law enforcement, and developing a robust Exploitation Competency Framework, SEG has championed targeted awareness training and contributed to national policy developments around home takeover.

Our Improving Practice Committee (IPC) has been pivotal in turning learning into action, not least through a highly successful Safeguarding Adults Week and a rolling programme of policy updates, multi-agency audits, and case-based learning. These efforts have led to tangible improvements in areas such as self-neglect, transitional safeguarding, and Making Safeguarding Personal, with practitioner and user feedback actively shaping our approach.

The Safeguarding Adult Review Committee (SARC) continues to ensure that learning from reviews is embedded in practice, with a particular focus on substance use, domestic abuse, and self-neglect. Our multi-agency audits have highlighted improving confidence in applying the Mental Capacity Act in practice and reinforced the need for continuous professional development.

This year’s report is enriched by powerful case studies that reflect the real impact of our work—stories of individuals whose lives have been changed through coordinated, compassionate intervention and the commitment of practitioners who go above and beyond.

As Chair, I extend my sincere thanks to all our partners, practitioners, and—most importantly—the adults at risk and their advocates who have trusted us to learn from their experiences. The vision of NSAB remains clear: to ensure that Newcastle is an ever-safer city for adults at risk of abuse and neglect. Our priorities of empowerment, protection, prevention, proportionality, partnership, and accountability remain at the forefront of all that we do.

Looking ahead, we will continue to listen, learn, and adapt in the pursuit of excellence, striving to ensure that every adult in Newcastle can live a life free from harm, with their rights upheld and their voices heard.

Vida Morris

NSAB Independent Chair

“As a city, Newcastle is committed to being a thriving and caring city, where every adult can lead healthy and happy lives. The work of the Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB) is central to our ambition of delivering better outcomes for our communities —bringing together partners across health, social care, criminal justice, and the voluntary sector to protect those most at risk.

This year’s Annual Report highlights the Board’s continued dedication to safeguarding adults through strengthened auditing of multi-agency work, increased understanding of the views of people who have experienced the safeguarding adults process, and work to address abuse and neglect where drugs and alcohol are a factor.

As a Councillor, I am proud to support the Board’s strategic priorities for 2025-26, which includes enhancing the understanding of neglect of adults with care and support needs and promoting safeguarding adult messages within our communities.

The challenges we face—whether resource pressures or the growing complexity of safeguarding needs—require us to be both resilient and innovative. I would like to thank all NSAB partners for their commitment and compassion. Together, we are building a safer, more inclusive Newcastle where adults at risk are protected, supported, and heard.

Councillor Adam Walker

Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Health and Prevention

Who we are and what we do

The NSAB is the statutory partnership responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of safeguarding adult arrangements in Newcastle. The Care Act 2014 states that the Board must have three core members: Newcastle City Council, Northumbria Police and North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board. The Board has three statutory duties, we must: develop and publish a strategic annual plan, produce an annual report and undertake Safeguarding Adults Reviews when the criteria has been met. The NSAB is supported by a number of sub committees, one of which is jointly overseen by the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP). Our NSAB roles and responsibilities page has more information about the Board and it’s work.

NSAB Development Sessions

The NSAB recognised that it’s members and sub-committee members need regular opportunities to develop their safeguarding adult knowledge in order that they can fulfil their role and responsibilities effectively. In 2024-25, the NSAB commenced delivery of a Development Session prior to each Board meeting which aim to support members in their strategic roles.

The first three sessions have focussed on the three sections of the Care Act which apply to safeguarding adult duties:

Section 42 (Safeguarding Adult Enquiries)
Section 43 (Safeguarding Adult Boards)
Section 44 (Safeguarding Adult Reviews)

The sessions are deliberately short (30 minutes); this decision, alongside scheduling them to align with the NSAB meetings, was intended to improve attendance and engagement in the sessions. The sessions have been recorded and PowerPoint slides are made available for people who were not able to attend.

Whilst the Development Sessions are aimed at NSAB and Sub-Committee members, they may also be of interest to others, particularly those in safeguarding leadership roles.

Find out more: www.newcastlesafeguarding.org.uk/nsab-member-development-sessions/

2024-25: Our Year in Brief

Plans and priorities

The Board starts each year by agreeing it’s strategic annual plan for the 12 months ahead. The plan is informed by our local data, learning from audits and reviews, consultation activity, agency self-assessments and any changes in national policy, guidance or legislation. Some priorities are carried over from our 2023-24 plan.

Our Strategic Annual Plan 2025-26 includes the following action areas:

Empowerment

We will monitor data to make sure adults at risk are involved in safeguarding adult enquiries.
We will ask people about their experiences of the safeguarding adults process and use what they tell us to get better.

Protection

We will find out more about why neglect is the most common form of abuse in Newcastle.
We will help with national work on home takeover.
We will carry on work to improve the safeguarding of adults who have needs related to their drug or alcohol use.

Proportionality

We will review our Risk Threshold Tool.

Prevention

We will promote safeguarding adults messages with the public and professionals.
We will co-produce information about safeguarding adults with adults in our communities.
We will find out if there are any barriers to people accessing safeguarding adults support.

Partnership

We will carry on work to improve the quality of safeguarding adult referrals.
We will ensure the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub is able to deal with the high volume of referrals that are made.
We will improve the feedback given to referrers.

Accountability

We will ensure learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews is embedded in practice.
We will carry on doing multi-agency audits.
We will develop tools to help those working or volunteering on the front-line learn from reviews, audits and best practice.

Local data

The information below gives a summary of safeguarding adults activity in 2024-25. In Newcastle, we still monitor the volume of referrals that the Local Authority receive, even though this is not reported via the national, statutory data collection. There was an 8% decrease in referrals on the previous year. 52% of referrals met the safeguarding adults concern criteria. These measures demonstrate that continued efforts to improve the quality of safeguarding adult referrals is making a difference.

Northumbria Police continue to submit the most referrals (36%), followed by Social Care Providers (17%) and then North East Ambulance Service (9%).

All referrals are triaged within one-working day to determine whether the safeguarding adult concern criteria has been met and whether other action might be required.

The most common outcome for referrals which do meet criteria is onward referral to Adult Social Care for further action, whether that is information, advice or signposting or an assessment or review of an individual’s care needs.

Working age adults continue to account for the highest number of safeguarding adults concerns received. However, when the volume of concerns is compared to overall population totals, the prevalence of abuse and neglect increases with age. 52% of safeguarding adult concerns were about women, 47% were about men and 1% recorded as other.

Where known*, the most common primary support reason for adults at risk subject to safeguarding adults concerns was physical support. This was followed by mental health support and learning disability support. *Primary Support Reason is specifically linked to an adult receiving a service from the Local Authority which is why there are a high proportion of safeguarding concerns with no support reason identified.

The most common location for someone to experience abuse and neglect was their own home (56% of all S42 enquiries).

In 2024/25 7,113 abuse types were recorded across concluded Section 42 Enquiries.

Neglect continues to be the most reported form of abuse. The NSAB want to further explore the reasons behind neglect being the most common abuse type, which has been a consistent trend over the previous few years.

In 80% of Section 42 enquiries, the adult at risk/representative was asked their desired outcomes.
In 93% of Section 42 enquiries where the adult at risk lacked mental capacity, they were supported by an advocate, family member or friend.
The performance measure around ensuring the adult or their representative’s views are known has remained relatively static from the previous year. The proportion of people being supported in the safeguarding adults process has significantly improved on the previous year, placing us ahead of national and regional comparators.

Feedback Project

A trial within the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) to gather feedback from people who have experienced the safeguarding adults process was undertaken between September and March 2025. NSAB partners, Healthwatch and Your Voice Counts, advised that seeking feedback should be embedded into the safeguarding adults process and be completed as a matter of course, rather than by exception. The trial yielded positive results, both in terms of numbers of people providing feedback and also the information being given back.

199 people provided feedback, with 95% of people saying that they felt safer or the person they were representing was safer as a result of the safeguarding action. 92% of people felt confident in contacting the team in the future if they needed help.

Questions asked at the end of the safeguarding adults enquiry

How did you feel in the safeguarding adults process?
Does the adult at risk feel safer/does the representative feel that the adult at risk is safer?
Is there anything that was done well as part of the safeguarding adult enquiry?
Is there anything that would make the process better for other people?
How confident would you feel in contacting the team in future?

Multi-Agency Audits

The NSAB has undertaken three multi-agency audits in 2024-25. These audits provide evidence of how well learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) have been embedded in current practice, as well as influencing policy, procedures and practice improvements.

The audits were devised around the recurring themes in Newcastle SARs and from national SAR analysis:

Domestic abuse
Principles of engagement
Safeguarding adults with needs related to their drug and/or alcohol use

Each audit consisted key lines of enquiry around Making Safeguarding Personal and use of the Mental Capacity Act. It was pleasing to see that there was good examples of mental capacity being considered and assessments being undertaken where required. The use of advocacy to support people to be represented was identified as an improvement area.

Key learning from each of the audits is highlighted below.

Find out more: www.newcastlesafeguarding.org.uk/learning-from-multi-agency-audits/

Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) Committee

The Safeguarding Adult Review Committee (SARC) have had a busy year, overseeing actions from completed Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) and considering new SAR referrals. In 2024-25, the SARC received four referrals for consideration. One of these was felt to meet the criteria for a SAR (on a discretionary basis) and will be taken forward in 2025-26. All four referrals included concerns for self-neglect; one of the referrals also highlighted potential domestic abuse and neglect by a family member.

The progression of recommendations from SARs was greatly assisted with the additional resource of the Safeguarding Adult Review Project Manager, funded by Public Health. The role was introduced to work on co-ordinating outstanding or emerging actions specifically related to drugs and alcohol, not only from SARs but also Domestic Homicide Reviews/Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews. See page 31 for more detail.

One of the key challenges for the SARC is ensuring that learning from reviews is embedded. In the last year, multi-agency audits have been used to assess current practice based on recurring learning from previous SARs. The Improving Practice Committee have taken this forward and it has demonstrated areas of good practice, particularly in relation to confidence in application of the Mental Capacity Act. The Committee are keen to hear from practitioners who have changed their practice as a result of SARs and this has made a difference to the adult at risk they were working with.

The SARC benchmarked Newcastle’s position against the National SAR Analysis Recommendations. This exercise identified the following action areas:

General awareness raising about SAR criteria and how to make a referral;
Hold a SARC Development Session on different methodologies;
Strengthening the development of, and agreement to, recommendations from SARs.

Some improvement priority areas were identified for the NSAB’s Strategic Annual Plan for 2025-26 and the multi-agency audit schedule.

There continues to be significant activity on regional and national basis in relation to Safeguarding Adult Reviews. Nationally, guidance on the interface between SARs and Coronial processes were published. Regionally, cross-boundary guidance was produced; this had been helpful for the SARC as one of the referrals received was about a death that had happened out of the area.

Partner agencies continue to demonstrate their commitment to learning and improvement.

Improving Practice Committee

The Improving Practice Committee (IPC) has played a pivotal role in advancing local safeguarding practice and promoting the safety, well-being, and rights of adults at risk in Newcastle.

The IPC has focused on delivering against the NSAB’s Strategic Annual Plan priorities, including:

Promoting key safeguarding messages through diverse tools and methods.
Ensuring policy, procedures, and practice are informed by learning from local and national reviews.
Assuring the quality of safeguarding adults referrals.
Addressing self-neglect, domestic abuse, and exploitation among adults with care and support needs.
Advancing Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) principles and promoting user engagement and feedback.

One of the Committee’s high-profile annual activities was planning, delivering and evaluating Safeguarding Adults Week. The Committee organised nine different webinars as well as a “Speed Geeking” event which allowed participants to move around different tables exploring different topics linked to safeguarding adults. The webinars also covered a wide range of topics: Prevent, self-neglect, domestic abuse perpetrator interventions, stigma and its impact, writing safeguarding policies and procedures, adults at risk of exploitation research, language and victim-blaming, InformationNOW, hoarding and fire risks and homelessness and rough sleeping in Newcastle. Just short of 400 people logged onto the webinars, with some attracting interest from across the UK. We also had a presence at a White Ribbon Information, Wellbeing and Fun Day organised by JET (Jobs, Education and Training). We hosted a stall and participated in the event’s quiz, asking attendees to find out who they would report concerns to if they were worried about adult abuse or neglect. This was a great opportunity to get safeguarding adults messages out to members of the public.

The Committee has consistently reviewed and developed key policy documents and guidance to improve safeguarding practice. Work in this area has included:

Reviewing and finalising the Safeguarding Transition Protocol.
Leading the revision and launch of the North of Tyne Self-Neglect Policy, incorporating health and social care perspectives and responding to local case review recommendations.
Developing new Engagement Guidance, building on existing principles and introducing a trauma-informed approach. The guidance was refined with practical suggestions to enhance professional engagement with adults at risk.
Contributing to the publication and local adaptation of the Regional Organisational Abuse Toolkit and considering consistency with national standards.
Welcoming a 7-minute advocacy briefing developed by Your Voice Counts, shared with practitioners to reinforce the importance of advocacy in safeguarding.

The IPC has maintained a rolling programme of multi-agency audits to scrutinise the effectiveness of safeguarding practice and identify opportunities for improvement. See page 11 for further information.

Case presentations have featured prominently in each IPC meeting, providing valuable opportunities for shared learning. Examples include:

A case of self-neglect presented by the ICB from another area highlighting the importance of multi-agency working, the crucial role of non-traditional contacts such as library staff, and challenges accessing benefits due to digital exclusion.
A case shared by NEAS and Newcastle City Council demonstrated effective early intervention and multi-agency collaboration in addressing self-neglect. This example was recognised for embodying Making Safeguarding Personal principles and achieving a significant reduction in risk and emergency service demand.
A case involving exploitation and property takeover, which highlighted important lessons about professional tenacity, flexible approaches, and the need to understand behaviours (such as missed appointments) in context.
A presentation from New Beginnings centred on a complex family dynamic involving coercion and control, illustrating the need for earlier intervention and a nuanced understanding of caregiving within familial relationships.

Learning from these cases has directly influenced policy updates, training, and guidance, reinforcing a cycle of continuous improvement.

The Committee has prioritised initiatives to ensure that adults at risk and their representatives are heard and that services are shaped by their experiences. The IPC are taking a keen interest in the new initiative to seek feedback from adults at risk/their representatives about their experiences of the safeguarding adults process.

The Committee oversaw and reflected on the implementation of online referral forms for safeguarding concerns, including the addition of new guidance and monitoring of form usage. The transition was generally smooth, and it is now only emergency services who do not use the multi-agency online referral form.

Learning and Development Sub-Committee

The Learning & Development Committee ensures there is quality and effective safeguarding adults training available to the workforce, volunteers and our communities.

The private, independent and voluntary sector continue to be the biggest user of our training, followed by the local authority. Most of our larger partner organisations provide in-house safeguarding adults training. The Learning and Development Committee monitor training uptake from partners, receiving assurance reports on a regular basis.

2,738 participants on e-learning
1,160 attendees on live events (Teams/in-person)
347 attendees on our most popular course (Level 1)
60 Level 1 workbook completions

Evaluation of multi-agency training continues to demonstrate we are delivering high quality and effective learning and development opportunities to the workforce. Statistics demonstrate increase knowledge, skills and confidence following attendance on training.

An ongoing priority is to improve our training offer to smaller community groups so that we are raising awareness with audiences who might not necessarily be mandated to attend safeguarding training. In the last year we developed a training course, alongside the NSCP, that was more accessible to residents whose first language is not English. This was delivered successfully to a women’s group at Elswick Mosque in summer 2024. We will continue to progress this priority in 2025-26.

We continue to have good relationships with colleagues offering complimentary training programmes. We endeavour to work together on training courses and promote their training opportunities. In 2024-25, this has included collaboration with the Community Safety Partnership on a new training course about domestic abuse and substance use; co-delivery of Safeguarding for Trustees training with the NSCP; work with Public Health on a Stigma Education package; and we received a presentation from Active Inclusion on their training offer so that we could effectively promote it within our organisations and networks.

The Committee undertook an assurance exercise on the extent to which vulnerability as a result of substance use was included within safeguarding training. This was a recommendation from the Adult O Safeguarding Adult Review – Domestic Homicide Review. The subsequent report highlighted that all agencies include this information in their higher-level and more specialist training, and they would continue to do so. All agencies were clear that this is something they considered in terms of their safeguarding duties. The report also includes information regarding what is included in the multi-agency training in terms of vulnerabilities linked to substances or alcohol disorders. Level 2, multi-agency safeguarding adult training centres around a case study exercise involving an adult with needs related to his drug and alcohol use.

Based on participant feedback, Level 1 and Level 2 training are now offered both online and in-person. To address concerns about online behaviour, an agreed etiquette sets expectations for respectful and professional conduct during online training.

We’re grateful to our representative from CNTW who is delivering to new courses on our multi-agency programme: Responding to Disclosures and Bias, Unconscious Bias and Malignant Alienation. In 2025-26 we will establish a multi-agency trainers group, increasing the number of trainers who deliver on our multi-agency programme from different partners and working together to review and update content.

The Learning and Development Committee priorities for 2025-26 include:

Continuing to increase availability/delivery of community-focussed training
Enhancing core training offer, supporting CPD, keeping safeguarding at the forefront of practitioner minds.
Increasing number of places of Level 1 and Level 2

Strategic Exploitation Group

In 2024-25, the Missing, Slavery, Exploitation and Trafficking (MSET) sub-committee changed its name to the Strategic Exploitation Group (SEG) , which was consistent with other areas in the Northumbria force area. 

There is a healthy sharing of partner agency information and intelligence at each SEG meeting. This allows themes and trends to be identified, and these can inform strategic priorities. There is regular attendance from Northumbria Police analysts and TOEX (Tackling Organised Exploitation) who provide up-to-date intelligence linked to modern slavery, immigration crime, county links and exploitation. One of the key areas the SEG have considered in the previous year is the link between the sale of illicit vapes and exploitation.

TOEX Case Study

Law enforcement agencies have recognised a new trend where criminal gangs are using e-cigarettes and vapes to exploit people criminally and sexually throughout the UK. Traditionally, gangs have used cash, trainers, and food to groom and entrap people; however, criminals have evolved their tactics and are now using these as a means to target young and vulnerable people.

TOEX teams are proactively supporting Police forces and working with local Trading Standards, Immigration and HMRC to disrupt this offending, protecting those who would have been at risk of being exploited.

The Northeast TOEX team proactively search their force intelligence systems on a monthly basis with keywords such as ‘vape’, ‘e-cigarette’, ‘child’, ‘exploitation’, and ‘grooming’ etc. seeking intelligence reports around incidents of that nature, comparing it against a monthly report from Trading Standards regarding which businesses in the region are engaged in this activity.

The Committee heard from Kerry Cooke, Safeguarding Adults Manager, who had finalised research around adult exploitation. The 2-year research, funded by the National Institute of Health Research Applied Research Collaboration Northeast North Cumbria, was a realist evaluation of how adult exploitation was being managed in Newcastle. Quantitative analysis of case records was conducted as well as qualitative interviews with various stakeholders. The research identifies what is needed and works effectively at an individual, operational, and strategic level to reduce risk for vulnerable adults.

Missing reports are shared at each meeting by Northumbria Police; in the last year there have been significant reductions in the number of missing reports. In 2024-25 there was a reduction in adult missing reports in Newcastle. The timeframe in which individuals are found have also reduced.

There are a number of different national protocols aimed at reducing the harm associated with people going missing. In July 2024, the Herbert Protocol (for people living with dementia) was made available online. A new protocol was introduced for missing people who are armed forces veterans (Forcer Protocol). The protocols enable swift access to key information that can help the police find a person more quickly.

The SEG received a presentation from the Missing People Safeguarding Briefing Network about the support they provide to families outside of the Police response. They encouraged partners to sign-up to their network and key contacts were shared to facilitate this.

The SEG made efforts to try and improve the consistency in training being offered on the topic of exploitation. A task and finish group devised an Exploitation Competency Framework which established clear competencies for different learner groups. These competencies set out the knowledge, skills and values required by those who may meet victims and survivors of exploitation. Those who develop and deliver training are encouraged to use the framework to design their content.

The Competency Framework was used to inform the development of multi-agency Exploitation Awareness Training which was delivered to 141 people in 2024-25. This training was for those working or volunteering with children or adults with care and support needs who may be in a position to identify concerns of exploitation. This was identified as a gap in the current training offer.

Members of SEG have been involved in national work around home takeover (sometimes referred to as cuckooing). The Home Office have been consulting colleagues as they prepare for the roll-out of the new cuckooing offence. The Home Office intends to publish statutory and non-statutory guidance and have been using knowledge and experience from Newcastle to do this. The NSAB Coordinator is also involved in a task and finish group established by the National Safeguarding Adults Board Manager network; collating learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews and sharing best practice.

Advocacy

NSAB Empowerment Priority: People who have substantial difficulty in participating in the safeguarding adults process are appropriately represented.

In November 2024, the NSAB had a focussed meeting around advocacy. Learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (in particular the Whorlton Hall SAR from Durham Safeguarding Adults Partnership), multi-agency audits and local performance information indicated that the Board should seek assurance on:

The quality and availability of advocacy in Newcastle;
How the Local Authority implement’s their statutory duties in relation to ensuring people are appropriately represented in the safeguarding adults process; and
How all partners raise awareness of the role of, and importance of, independent advocacy.

The NSAB is fortunate to have strong relationships with advocacy services, having two members who are advocacy providers in the City: Your Voice Counts and Connected Voice. At the Board meeting, they gave presentations on the different types of advocacy and their important role in empowering people and keeping people safe. Newcastle City Council covered the commissioning of advocacy and how statutory duties are integrated into safeguarding systems.

We heard about a variety of processes that are in place to ensure the quality of advocacy e.g. the Advocacy Charter and the Quality Performance Mark.

Questions and prompts are embedding into the safeguarding adults referral form and the local authority recording system to ensure advocacy is being considered in the safeguarding adults process. Recent data has highlighted an improvement in the number of people being supported through the safeguarding adults process when they lack mental capacity.

Board members were asked to consider how they were meeting NICE Guidelines in relation to training about advocacy and support was offered by Your Voice Counts and Connected Voice in respect of this.

Your Voice Counts had produced a 7-minute briefing on Statutory Advocacy to encourage further knowledge and awareness.

Partner agency perspectives

North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board

Following a Government announcement in March 2025 the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) are currently undergoing a further restructure to reduce running costs and make efficiency savings. The previous restructure completed in April 2024 saw the introduction to the Safeguarding Adults Team of a Deputy Designated Nurse role and a change to the Safeguarding nurses to become all age Safeguarding Specialist Practitioners to promote skill mix and succession planning. Newcastle Gateshead Local Delivery Team is managed under the umbrella of the larger organisation. Delivery Teams and the Safeguarding Teams in each local delivery area report to the ICB’s Safeguarding Executive meeting which is chaired by the Executive Chief Nurse, facilitating an assurance and escalation process for safeguarding issues across the ICB.

During this current restructure the Team will continue to support the delivery of the ICB strategic priorities of:

Longer and healthier lives
Fairer outcomes for all
Better health and care services
Giving Children and Young People the best start in life

With the key areas of learning for safeguarding

Domestic Abuse
Self-Neglect
Transitional Safeguarding
Children in Care

This aligns us to delivery of the strategic plan of Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board working with multi – agency partners.

The ICB remain committed to supporting with multi – agency training and education, participating in the Learning and Development Group and dissemination of learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SAR’s and Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHR’s), seeking assurance from commissioned services regarding recommendations and outcomes.

Recent case reviews have highlighted the importance of working with multi- agency partners including Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) where information has been disseminated and changes made to improve services following recommendations from reviews.

There has also been significant work carried out to improve cross border working particularly where health (including mental health) and social care providers are from different areas, which makes communication more challenging, but essential to provide better health care services and improve outcomes.

The ICB Safeguarding Team support the Named GPs with online and face to face training for Primary Care staff to promote good practice from case review recommendations, share learning and develop easily accessible resources. Further support for individual practices is provided on a case-by-case basis where there are complex needs and / or multi – agency working. One of the Named GPs has been involved with the ‘Make a Change’ programme, which is a community-wide, early response approach to people who are concerned that they are using harmful behaviours in their intimate, or previously intimate, relationships. Training has been delivered, and primary care have been supported by the Named GP in identifying and referring patients to this programme.

ICB Exploitation Nurse raises awareness of exploitation and modern slavery, delivers training sessions and facilitates health support into modern slavery operations led by the Police.

The ICB safeguarding team discharges its duty to collaborate supporting and contributing to multi – agency working including supporting asylum seekers, hate crime prevention, Prevent, Community Safety Partnerships and the Local Domestic Abuse Partnership Board. Safeguarding Adults Week was promoted across the ICB highlighting themes and raising awareness.

Changing Lives

Changing Lives is committed to creating a safe, responsive, and person-centred environment for all individuals accessing our services. In the past year, key initiatives have included case note audits, training enhancements, organisational learning, and the implementation of a new safeguarding strategy for 2025–2026. We have also established a national High-Risk Case Management Forum and the introduction of structured safeguarding induction and refresher training for staff.

The Level 5 Safeguarding Single Point of Contact (SPOC) plays a critical leadership role in embedding safeguarding excellence across the organisation. Acting as a senior safeguarding advisor, the SPOC provides expert guidance on supporting staff in decision-making and ensures that safeguarding concerns are managed in line with statutory requirements and best practice. Additionally, the SPOC contributes to strategic planning, and supports the continuous development of safeguarding policies, training, and organisational learning. The Safeguarding and Safe Practice Lead, Clare Knox, plays a critical strategic role in ensuring that safeguarding is embedded across all levels of an organisation. This involves developing and overseeing the implementation of safeguarding policies, procedures, and training frameworks that align with legal requirements and best practice standards. At a strategic level, the Safeguarding Lead works closely with senior leadership to promote a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

During this reporting period, case note audits were conducted on two newly integrated services within Changing Lives. The audits revealed that potential safeguarding concerns had not been appropriately identified or risk-assessed by frontline staff. This resulted in improvement action being taken including on-site support and training delivered by the Safeguarding Lead and further guidance being provided on completing risk assessments and raising safeguarding concerns. These interventions aimed to embed a culture of vigilance and proactive safeguarding within the new services.

Safeguarding Week focused on the theme of “Partnership Working”, engaging staff across the organisation in a series of impactful sessions. Sessions on professional curiosity, hospital discharge pathways, and adult sexual exploitation reinforced the importance of multi-agency collaboration in safeguarding practice.

Our current Nimble e-learning module was reviewed for relevance and effectiveness with improvements identified. A new Safeguarding Awareness Session has been introduced for all new starters which links core legislation with the organisation’s case management and internal reporting systems. The aim is to equip new staff with a strong foundation in safeguarding from day one.

The Safeguarding Strategy for 2025–2026 has been approved by the Safeguarding Governance Group who will monitor progress on a quarterly basis. Strategic Objectives:

Make safeguarding personal.
Ensure safety and wellbeing for all people that access our services.
Align with Changing Lives’ commitment to excellence in care.

A new National High-Risk Case Management Group has been established to provide a structured space for staff to discuss complex safeguarding cases. The key emerging themes have been unmet physical health needs and lack of statutory healthcare support. The forum fosters cross-service collaboration and ensures high-risk individuals receive appropriate, coordinated care.

A quarterly review of safeguarding reports submitted via internal recording system identified self-neglect as the most frequently reported concern, particularly within accommodation and outreach services. In response we have developed a Self-Neglect Response Process to support staff.

During this reporting period, Changing Lives continued to engage with the Serious Untoward Incidents (SUI) process as a vital mechanism for learning and improvement. Through structured reviews and multi-agency collaboration, we ensure that each incident is thoroughly examined, with outcomes and learning shared across the organisation. By embedding learning from SUIs into practice, we strengthen our safeguarding culture and enhance the quality of care and support we provide.

This reporting period has seen significant progress in embedding safeguarding practices across Changing Lives. Through audits, training, strategic planning, and collaborative forums, we continue to strengthen our safeguarding culture and ensure the safety and dignity of those we support.

Connected Voice Advocacy

Our team is dedicated to providing comprehensive support and training to enhance safeguarding efforts and address hate crime in our community. We offer one-to-one support to prepare for or avoid Section 42 enquiries, ensuring that individuals are well-prepared and informed.

We provide online training for the Voluntary, Community, Social Enterprise sector, focusing on safeguarding and the role of advocacy in safeguarding.

To raise awareness and promote safeguarding, we are launching a social media campaign for Safeguarding Adults Week.

We provide direct support for victims of hate crime, with up to 120 individuals receiving assistance each year. We actively participate in the Newcastle Hate Crime and Community Tension Group, sharing local intelligence and strategies to mitigate the impact of hate on our community. In response to civil unrest and racial tensions, we attended Joint Engagement Groups in the summer of 2024. Our involvement in creating hate crime awareness films, in collaboration with students at Sunderland University and the Police and Crime Commissioner, further underscores our commitment to this cause.

We are also excited to announce the development of the HATE ID app in partnership with Northumbria and Durham universities. This app is a result of long-term research on hate relationships and aims to improve support for hate incident victims. Researchers from Durham University are collaborating on this project, and their first research report, “Exploring ‘hate relationships’ through Connected Voice’s Hate Crime Advocacy Service”, is available for reading. The second report, “Improving responses to Hate Relationships”, is also accessible, along with a short summary.

Newcastle City Council: Adult Social Care and Prevention

Adult Social Care continues to be at the forefront of safeguarding adults work in Newcastle, triaging the nearly 20,000 referrals and co-ordinating over 9,000 section 42 enquiries.

The Safeguarding Adults Unit, who run a daily advice line for professionals, moved to a different system for receiving contacts. In January 2025, an online portal replaced the previous telephone system, enhancing efficiency and ensuring that all advice requests are handled promptly and effectively. Between January and March 2025, 572 advice requests submitted via the new form, with approximately 170 coming from multi-agency partners (the rest coming from within Adult Social Care). The majority of contacts relate to paid worker/organisational abuse enquiries.

A Directorate task and finish group has been established to improve responses to fire risks. Work to date has included: mandated reading for all staff of the Fire Death 7-Minute Briefing, awareness raising via our newsletter and staff briefings, and a survey to understand current practice and knowledge in this area. The work of the group will continue with development of a screening tool and subsequent integration into key Adult Social Care and Prevention contact forms which will prompt consideration of fire risks and ensure onward referral to Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.

The Safeguarding Newcastle Against Poverty (SNAP) initiative has expanded in the last year. The project prioritises early intervention—identifying challenges before they escalate into crisis situations that may result in safeguarding concerns arising. SNAP continues to work in close partnership with key community organisations including Newcastle Foodbank and Newcastle Community Pantry. In the past year, its reach has grown further to include West End Women & Girls, Throckley Community Hall, and Cruddas Park’s ‘The Space’. In addition to its place-based support for residents, SNAP delivers an annual training programme for staff and volunteers within voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations. This training is designed to strengthen their ability to respond effectively to the needs of those accessing their services.

The introduction of a new offence of “Cuckooing” (Home Takeover) as part of the Crime and Policing Bill has led to government consultation on how this will take effect and what statutory and non-statutory guidance will be required to support enactment. Adult Social Care and Prevention colleagues with expertise in adult exploitation have been working with the Home Office to ensure this reflects our local experiences of responding to this type of abuse.

We have successfully piloted a new feedback process to understand people’s experiences of the safeguarding adult process. Commencing in September 2024, within the MASH, workers were required to ask adults at risk or their representatives a number of questions. The approach was developed in consultation with Healthwatch and Your Voice Counts who advised that seeking feedback should be embedded into the safeguarding adults process and not done by a third party or be done by exception. Over 200 instances of feedback were received during the pilot, with 95% of people stating that they (or the person they were representing) were safer as a result of the safeguarding adults enquiry and 92% of people saying they would feel confident in contacting services for future safeguarding support. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with quotes demonstrating the positive work done by Adult Social Care and partner agencies.

“I feel I was listened to and taken seriously; nothing was pushed on me”

“Speaking to safeguarding put my mind at ease”

“It’s nice to have the team there – feels that the service is needed, legally and for a human response, also for advice and follow-up on any incidents”

The feedback questions have now been integrated into Adult Social Care’s recording system and people will be asked for their feedback at the end of every safeguarding adult enquiry.

Newcastle City Council: Public Health

The role of the Director of Public Health (DPH) is to support resident health and wellbeing across the population with a particular emphasis on reducing health inequalities. This year, public health leads have been collaborating with Sir Prof Michael Marmot and the Institute of Health Equity (IHE) to work together to reach the ambition to become a Marmot City. A conference was held in February 2025 to set out the ambitions and challenges and consider the key priorities for the city using the Marmot Eight Principles as a framework. This has led to work to establish a leadership group, for us to begin to embed a health equity in all policies approach for all Directorates in the council (meaning we are helping colleagues to think about health and health equity in all that they do). Over the next two years we will work closely with partners and the IHE to develop priority areas.

Public health have coordinated the development of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment website and dashboard, which supports evidence led planning. Various health needs assessments have also been developed and added, which also included the Ethnic Minorities Needs Assessment, which the NSAB received a presentation update on. these areas are key in us understanding our population and

their needs, to inform future delivery planning priorities. Within public health priorities, there is a broad range of activity and delivery focused on prevention and reducing health inequality.

Additional drug and alcohol grant spend has led to several initiatives and projects that support the work of the NSAB. This has included a dedicated post to review all Safeguarding Adult Reviews and Domestic Abuse Homicide Reviews where substances have been a factor. This allowed a review of all recommendations and actions, and to review the issue of substances within these cases. The focus was on practice improvement including revising processes and pathways and practitioner / workforce development including access to residential rehabilitation. Public health has supported work to tackle exploitation, with an animation developed and partnership resources on the NSAB webpages. The ongoing collaboration with public health has also led to a stigma education package produced by Northumbria University, which will be rolled out supported by lived experience. Stigma has been a key theme in many Safeguarding Adult Reviews, Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews and drug / alcohol or suicide elated deaths. Partners are currently reviewing delivery plans for 2025/26 to support workforces in their understanding. Bespoke training has been funded on MCA and alcohol as well as a consideration of additional training around drugs and alcohol and domestic abuse.

The Anti Poverty Action Plan has been intelligence led to support tackling poverty in the city, with a wide range of partners and themes (including tackling food insecurity). The new Revival Lived Experience collaboration partnership is made up of organisations, services and people with lived experience of substances and a range of vulnerabilities. The purpose of this has been to highlight visible recovery and the opportunities that exist across the city for services and providers to understand and work within an asset based approach. This also includes increasing access to peer support, mutual aid and community based provision (awareness raising).

The Health Inequalities Outcome Summary funds targeted interventions that address the complex needs of vulnerable populations, particularly those with high emergency department usage, substance use, and mental health challenges. Through initiatives such as the High Intensity User service, Safeguarding Recovery Link Worker, and dedicated roles in maternity, respiratory, and primary care, the programmes enhance access to holistic, person-centred care. These services work collaboratively across hospital and community settings to reduce repeat referrals, improve physical and mental health outcomes, and ensure individuals are supported in the most appropriate settings. The approach also strengthens safeguarding by identifying at-risk individuals early, improving engagement with underserved groups, and reducing health inequalities through tailored, inclusive support pathways.

The High Intensity Use (HIU) programme supports safeguarding by identifying and assisting individuals aged 18 and over who frequently attend Emergency Departments (ED), often due to unmet or complex needs. By targeting those who visit ED more than five times a month or over 20 times a year, the programme helps redirect individuals to more appropriate services, such as community health or social care, where their needs can be better addressed. This not only reduces pressure on urgent and emergency care systems but also enhances safeguarding by ensuring vulnerable individuals receive coordinated, person-centred support that addresses underlying issues contributing to their high service use. Public health is working alongside adult social care and other partners to develop a delivery plan to work in partnership.

The integration of public health into the licensing process under the Licensing Act enables a more holistic, evidence-based approach to managing alcohol-related risks. Although public health does not have a dedicated licensing objective, it contributes by sharing local intelligence and identifying potential harms. The development of the Alcohol Risk Matrix—used collaboratively by public health, harm reduction, and licensing teams—allows for postcode-level analysis of alcohol-related risk factors, such as the density of licensed premises and the presence of vulnerable populations. This tool enhances decision-making by highlighting areas where alcohol use may pose direct or indirect harm, thereby supporting the protection of vulnerable adults and promoting safer communities.

Stronger links and increased partnership working have been established across social care and treatment services. Key representatives have collaborated to develop pathways and effective joint working procedures. Outcomes include enhanced coordination, improved service delivery, and the creation of streamlined pathways for better patient care.

Newcastle City Council: Housing and Communities

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) joined Newcastle City Council in July 2024 and this led to changes in how we deliver our service to customers and personnel changes. Throughout the transition back to the council we have worked hard to ensure that safeguarding continues to be a priority and that all teams know the correct process to follow and support available to ensure customers are safeguarded at every opportunity.

Teams have received up to date information around fire related risks and fatalities and face to face training sessions have taken place with teams to highlight support available.
Housing and Communities Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse forum meets bi-monthly and is attended by reps across the directorate. The forum is an opportunity to share safeguarding messages from the NSAB, data around referrals, discuss changes to ways of working and ways to promote and encourage safeguarding across teams.
Housing and Communities have nominated staff to work with Safeguarding Adults to support the presentation of multi-agency safeguarding adults training.
Staff across the directorate have attended safeguarding training to ensure their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding is up to date

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Newcastle Hospitals workforce continue to be fundamental in identifying and responding to increasingly complex safeguarding activity in both acute and community settings. To ensure the delivery of high-quality safeguarding practice, we have further developed a series of master class sessions to enhance learning, aligned to the NSAB priorities. We are working to embed this learning through specialist services outreach to wards and clinical areas to support staff translating safeguarding policy and guidance into practice. Our focus for the master class sessions included older people affected by domestic abuse, responding to domestic abuse within the emergency department and self-neglect (focusing on legal options). We have also offered opportunities for acute care staff to work directly within the safeguarding team, which helps expand confidence and demystifies the process of safeguarding. We have built strong links with the Emergency Department and this model of learning and practice will be used to build confidence and skills across the Trust.

A Training Needs Analysis has been completed which aims to provide assurance that all staff have the correct level of safeguarding training, across adult and children’s services which is aligned to the intercollegiate guidelines. Safeguarding training compliance is closely monitored. Work is progressing to improve mandatory compliance rates. This work will build in opportunities for learning, supporting staff to recognise and respond to the growing complexity within safeguarding.

The Newcastle Hospitals workforce continue to be fundamental in identifying and responding to increasingly complex safeguarding activity in both acute and community settings. To ensure the delivery of high-quality safeguarding practice, we have further developed a series of master class sessions to enhance learning, aligned to the NSAB priorities. We are working to embed this learning through specialist services outreach to wards and clinical areas to support staff translating safeguarding policy and guidance into practice. Our focus for the master class sessions included older people affected by domestic abuse, responding to domestic abuse within the emergency department and self-neglect (focusing on legal options). We have also offered opportunities for acute care staff to work directly within the safeguarding team, which helps expand confidence and demystifies the process of safeguarding. We have built strong links with the Emergency Department and this model of learning and practice will be used to build confidence and skills across the Trust.

A Training Needs Analysis has been completed which aims to provide assurance that all staff have the correct level of safeguarding training, across adult and children’s services which is aligned to the intercollegiate guidelines. Safeguarding training compliance is closely monitored. Work is progressing to improve mandatory compliance rates. This work will build in opportunities for learning, supporting staff to recognise and respond to the growing complexity within safeguarding.

We continue to see substantial increases in the use of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). This is evident in case discussions and audit. Audit demonstrates an improvement in the application of the Mental Capacity Act in practice with continued education and training resources in place. Additionally, there are increasing numbers of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and the continued requirement of legal services support. We continue to strengthen the application of the Mental Capacity Act with the development of legal literacy sessions and supervision and support to staff.

The Trust continued to deliver learning and development sessions focusing on the emerging themes from Safeguarding Adult Reviews.

Mental Capacity remains a key focus for the Trust with the support of colleagues from Digital Health, Training and Risk Management. The Trust ensures that evidenced Mental Capacity application is demonstrated through audit. Mental Capacity training and awareness emphasises the involvement of the individual and their voice in decision making with the Making Safeguarding a Personal Agenda remaining a central message throughout all training, support, and supervision. We continue to hold sessions for community colleagues on home take over and the growing concerns around exploitation.

We have held several seminars delivered to frontline staff and clinical leaders around fire related risks. We hope to further enhance this stream of work with public and staff facing information. We have included the role of Fire Services in self-neglect training and Level 3 learning.

Case Study – Self-Neglect – “Jane”

Self-neglect remains an ever-present concern within safeguarding. In Newcastle Hospitals we continue to see recognition and response of self-neglect concerns for individuals who can have complex needs from a mental and physical health perspective. In a number of these cases, we see the traumatic impact of abuse, which can initially present as self-neglect.

In the case of Jane, (name has been changed to protect identity), Jane was spending long periods of time in the emergency department, on occasions she would book in for review but on others she was found sleeping the department. Jane was a former teacher; she was articulate and was at times challenging to staff.

This situation deteriorated and staff became concerned that Jane was potentially within the department on several nights over a number of weeks, she was often in the same clothes, appeared to be losing weight and her physical health was deteriorating. She would often express her frustrations to staff, self-discharge and disclosed she was concerned that people were targeting her in the community. Staff in the emergency department used professional curiosity to gently enquire about Jane’s concerns, encouraged her to book into the department on every occasion and to also enquire where she was spending her days.

Several referrals were sent to the Local Authority, and they were frequently followed up to seek an outcome. Often the outcomes highlighted that Jane was a capacitated adult and that although Jane was encouraged to seek review with her GP, she did not attend. The concerns further escalated, and advice was taken when it began to emerge that the time on the hospital site was almost daily, and it was highly likely Jane was not living at home. Legal advice, mental health and multi-agency meetings occurred to look at ways to reach out to Jane. Housing confirmed she had not been at her property for a number of months and the GP had not been able to engage with Jane. Mental health concerns were now more apparent, and this led to questions about mental capacity around accommodation, safety and care. Staff worked to build relationships, despite times when Jane would reject them and through mental health teams and the emergency department staff, Jane was eventually assessed under the Mental Health Act.

The practice of the teams showed persistence, tenacity and professional enquiry. There were repeated steps to review mental capacity and to liaise with mental health teams. There was outreach to multi-agency partners and advocacy to ensure all agencies were represented at discussion. Jane is one of many individuals who access emergency care when alternative solutions would be indicated. Being open and non-judgmental to Jane when she was in the building and having staff who knew Jane, demonstrates the wider needs that sit outside emergency care. Jane was highlighted as a high intensity service user and through chronology and evidence gathering of her deterioration, the signs of self-neglect became pressingly clearer, and it was great relief that Jane was eventually able to access the care she needs.

Northumbria Police

Northumbria Police’s Prevention Department have implemented a Mental Health Problem Solving Team with a new Terms of Reference. They are now managing small cohorts of individuals, those who are high harm or place high demand on local areas.

The Safeguarding and Prevention departments have newly formed a Suicide Prevention Working Group attended by Local Authority Public Health leads and Domestic Abuse leads across the region. A Northumbria area, multi-agency Suicide Prevention Conference is planned for January 2026.

We have introduced a new Exploitation Team who are working alongside partners ensuring a multi-agency response to safeguard and protect victims of exploitation.

The Statutory Reviews Team have had a staff uplift to ensure that any learning can be identified, implemented and evaluated at a much earlier stage.

  The City Safe project was developed after  recognising the need for a collaborative effort to tackle, reduce, and prevent crime and antisocial behaviour. Based at Newcastle’s City Library site, bringing together the expertise and dedication of Newcastle City Council, NE1, and various community partners. 

City Safe is a commitment to making Newcastle a better and safer place to live, work, and visit. From reducing crime rates to providing support services for vulnerable individuals, our efforts have made a tangible difference. This aligns with our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to make communities safer, prevent crime and disorder, solve local problems, and build and improve relationships with communities.

 Northumbria Police continue to focus on domestic abuse and Newcastle Area Command showed a reduction in incidents by 5% compared to previous 12 months, in part down to the great focused prevention work being carried out through earlier Clare’s Law disclosure and targeted intervention work through Operation Aegis (a project aimed at reducing cases of domestic abuse).

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

In 2024, TWFRS changed its safeguarding reporting system to improve the quality, administration, and speed of referrals to local authorities across our region, including to Newcastle. This work was done in collaboration with our software partner, CIVICA, over nine months, and recent internal evaluation has been overwhelmingly positive, with other Fire and Rescue Servies across the country, looking to learn from the system we have created.

This change in procedure gave us the opportunity to deliver safeguarding training around thresholds and “Safeguarding v safeguarding” to all operational firefighters, and other frontline staff, in a concentrated period during the summer.

Alongside this technical change, we have created a Safeguarding Adults information leaflet, for frontline staff to offer the individuals they are concerned about, demystifying the process, and give frontline staff the support to engage in conversations about safeguarding, in line with Making Safeguarding Personal.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust

There has been successful recruitment into Named Professional positions. There are now two Named Professionals and one Named Nurse in post allowing for improved safeguarding oversight and support to CNTW services but also creating capacity for greater involvement and interfacing with locality Safeguarding Adult Board subgroups, task and finish groups and joint initiatives.

A dedicated Safeguarding Dashboard has been developed and is in the final stages of review prior to going live. This will allow the organisation to monitor and review safeguarding information, to identify trends and learning, to better support safeguarding practice at a strategic and operational level.

CNTW Trust Quality and Safety priorities for 2025 – 2026 have a focus on; reducing incidents of violence and aggression, reducing restrictive practice, reducing incidents of self harm and suicide and improving physical health care. Safeguarding leads have membership of the working groups to ensure action plans and service/practice developments are considered through a safeguarding lens.

The Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) continues to embed across the organisation, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement. Internally, this has led to more compassionate responses to incidents, improved staff engagement, and greater transparency in learning processes. Externally, partners benefit from enhanced collaboration, increased trust, and assurance that the organisation is committed to delivering safer, more responsive care.

Domestic Abuse awareness sessions have been provided to teams Trustwide. Training is reflective of local Domestic Homicide/Domestic Abuse Related Death Review learning. A Trustwide weekly question was developed to assess and improve domestic abuse awareness. This was an automatic pop up on accessing the trust intranet and included links to further information, briefings and policy. 84.45% of the Trust workforce demonstrated a robust understanding of domestic abuse and the appropriate actions to take to safeguard victims, with a further 7.92% identifying that they would seek appropriate advice and guidance from the Safeguarding And Public Protection (SAPP) team.

The CNTW Clinical Police Liaison Lead has worked collaboratively with the Northumbria Police Mental Health Lead to improve multi agency awareness and processes in the context of criminal investigations and mental health. Claire Andre, was also presented with a commendation by Northumbria Police for her dedication, hard work and support on the rollout of the Right Care Right Person approach.

The CNTW Safeguarding and Public Protection PREVENT lead, Nigel Atkinson, has been recognised with a Head of Department Commendation by the Head of Prevent. This award has been presented in recognition of his valuable support to Counter Terrorism Policing in the North East, his participation in Channel and Police Led Panels and the vital support he has offered to vulnerable suspects whilst in custody.

Making Safeguarding Personal information, including a 7 minute briefing, guidance and good practice examples have been circulated via the Trustwide Bulletin. The information is readily available on the Trust intranet and is referred to during Safeguarding supervisions where appropriate. A My Personal Safeguarding Framework is consistently utilised by clinical staff when responding to and exploring safeguarding incidents or concerns, to support referrals to Local Authority Safeguarding services.

Safeguarding Adults and Children Level 3 training is mandatory for all qualified clinical staff. The training package is reviewed and updated regularly.

There are sustained increases in safeguarding reporting within the organisation. Focused work will review the triage functions capacity to review all safeguarding incidents and the quality and consistency of the triage advice offered. Further work is to be undertaken to support accurate safeguarding reporting and data capture, to better inform CNTW and external partners of our safeguarding activity and allow targeted improvement work to take place.

CNTW continue to be committed to working collaboratively with partnership boards to identify and dynamically respond to learning and areas of development, highlighted through statutory review processes. Work is ongoing to review representation at Boards and Partnerships to support greater consistency and improve attendance.

The Trust Wide SAPP group attendance and structure is being reviewed and will in future include the Nominated Representative from the ICB, which will improve strategic alignment, enhance multi-agency collaboration, and strengthen the consistency and quality of safeguarding practices across the system.

Drugs, Alcohol and Safeguarding

Public Health funded a short-term post to work on co-ordinating outstanding or emerging actions from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) and Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs, now known as Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews), where the action related to drugs and alcohol.

The three SARs involved domestic abuse, self-neglect, compromised physical health and all of the subjects (and perpetrators) had a drug and/or alcohol dependency. There was a total of 54 actions across the SARs, ranging from single agency actions to systems and policy actions. In response, the following work has been completed:

Refiguration of the residential rehabilitation pathway for treatment services.
Established links and processes with local volunteer centre to ensure training is shared with charities and grassroot organisations to take a whole workforce approach to upskilling staff across the city.
Updated engagement guidance using a trauma informed lens with input from those with lived experience.
Purchase and rollout of “The mental capacity act and vulnerable dependant drinkers” across sectors.
Joint workshop event between social care and treatment services to build relationships.
Scoping of service delivery, pathways and capacity against the “Blue Light model and recommendations from Alcohol Change UK.
An animation for drug and alcohol treatment services aimed at the public to dispel myths and encourage people to access treatment.

The post ended in March 2025 with significant progress being made against actions from the SARs. Any outstanding actions will be taken forward as part of Public Health’s role in reducing the harm associated with drug and/or alcohol use. There continues to be strong relationships between safeguarding adults and Public Health, with the Programme Leader for the Harm Reduction and Social Inclusion portfolio being a long-standing member of the NSAB.

Find out more: www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/public-health/public-health-services/drugs-and-alcohol

Izzy Case Study

Izzy had a long history of homelessness and substance misuse, was using alcohol, occasionally cocaine and other substances. She had frequent contact with emergency services and was known to be a victim of abuse and self-neglect. Despite initial reluctance, she agreed to meet with the Rough Sleepers Drug and Alcohol Team. A multi-disciplinary team provided daily support, leading to her completing an alcohol detoxification and entering residential rehabilitation. Izzy is now in recovery, has reconnected with family, and is looking forward to a positive future