6 days ago
Flintshire Council sees increase in demand for safeguarding
According to a report, which is to be discussed by the authority's social and health care overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday (June 5) sets out the demand facing council staff working in adults and children's safeguarding settings at present.
One of the areas the report examines is the deprivation of liberty safeguards (DOLS) - which come into play if a person lacks mental capacity to agree to live in a care home, is under continuous supervision and control and would be prevented from leaving a care home if they were to try to do so.
The report explains: "Deprivations of Liberty in Flintshire care homes are assessed by a best interest assessor and by a specialist doctor.
"Numbers of applications have increased year on year from 13 applications in 2013-2014 (before a significant new judgement, known as Cheshire West, widened the scope of DOLS) to the number of applications received in 2024/25 being 685.
"The number of referrals received means that careful prioritisation is needed to ensure that those most in need receive assessments."
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It also describes the rising demand in adult safeguarding and adults at risk, explaining: "The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 expects the local authority to undertake relevant enquiries and decide on next steps within seven working days of receipt of an adult safeguarding report.
"Between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, 668 adult safeguarding reports that met the threshold for enquiries were completed, with 90 per cent of enquiries being completed within seven days."
The same period between 2024 and 2025 saw 991 adult safeguarding reports that
met the threshold being completed - 96 per cent of which were completed within seven days.
"This reflects an increase in demand year on year," the report adds, "with the same amount of resource within safeguarding.
"Despite this, the adult safeguarding team have risen to the challenge and maintained a high level of performance in respect of adult safeguarding investigations and timeliness."
It further states that the majority of referrals made over the last 12 months "have involved neglect and physical abuse," adding: "Referrals are becoming more complex and financial abuse is an increasing trend within adult safeguarding."
