From Herefordshire Safeguarding Boards and Partnerships
Information Resources for Herefordshire
Welcome to the fourth Information Bulletin from Herefordshire Safeguarding Boards and Partnerships of 2021. We will continue to publish regular updates with Coronavirus (COVID-19) and other safeguarding related information for professionals in Herefordshire.
Please consider disseminating across your organisations and networks.
If you have been forwarded this information you can sign up to receive future bulletins.
Important Change to safeguarding training from 1st April
We are pleased to announce a new improved system for booking and managing your multi agency safeguarding training in Herefordshire, and a new FREE training offer.
The web address will remain the same but when you access herefordshirecpd.co.uk from 1st April you will be taken to a completely new booking system that is very simple, efficient and much easier to use. A new account will be required to use the system.
Please remember that on 30th March all access to existing CPD Online user accounts will stop. If you need to download old safeguarding course certificates or training records, you must log in to your existing account to do that before the end of March.
As we are focussed on getting as many people trained as we can, most training will now be FREE to attend for all agencies. Non-attendance will understandably continue to be charged for, so that valuable training places are not wasted.
COVID-19 vaccinations for Herefordshire residents
For the latest information and updates about Covid-19 vaccinations in Herefordshire visit the Herefordshire Council website.
Information about vaccines: For people with a learning disability and autistic people
This is a short film on YouTube from NHS England and NHS Improvement developed for people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people.
It describes what a vaccine is, how vaccines are made, why you should get a vaccine, whether a vaccine make you ill and how to decide whether to have a vaccine or not.
1.7 million people added to COVID-19 shielding list
New technology has been introduced in England to help clinicians identify a new group of people who may be at high risk from COVID-19.
Up to 1.7 million patients have been identified. Those within this group who are over 70 will have already been invited for vaccination and the remaining 820,000 adults between 19 and 69 years will now be prioritised for a vaccination.
In Herefordshire this means that around 2,600 additional people are being added to the group being asked by the NHS to shield. All of these people will be contacted individually and support will be offered as required.
Important Court of Protection Judgement regarding COVID-19 vaccination and Mental Capacity Assessment.
Important for practitioners and managers to be aware of, in case of similar objections.
Frequently it is assumed that completing Mental Capacity Assessments for any decisions, is time consuming and complicated. The Judgement demonstrates that this is not always the case and that evaluating capacity on single and entirely fact specific issues is unlikely to be a complex or overly sophisticated process when undertaken, for example, by experienced GPs and with the assistance of family members or care staff who know the patient well.
The issue arose in the context of ongoing proceedings concerning the residence and care arrangements for an 80 year old woman, E. E was resident at the time in a care home in which there had been a number of cases of COVID-19. On 8 January 2021, the local authority informed her Accredited Legal Representative (i.e. the lawyer acting for her in the proceedings) that she was to be offered the vaccination on 11 January 2021. Her son objected to this, and her representatives made an urgent application for a declaration that it would be in her best interests to receive the vaccine at the next possible date (the slot on 11 January being missed in consequence of the son’s objection).
The link to the judgement is below, along with the link for Mental Capacity Act at a glance which provides a simple overview and refresher of the Act.
COVID-19 vaccinations and the issues this raises for Care Homes and residents lacking in capacity
Jonathan Landau, barrister at 5 Essex Court has written an article for The Carer magazine regarding the recent distribution of the COVID-19 vaccinations and the issues this raises for Care Homes and residents lacking in capacity.
E-Learning Course - Supporting birth parents who have their children adopted
A new e-learning course has been developed following two safeguarding reviews which highlighted the potential impact on mothers who are about to have their children removed. There are many reasons someone might have their child adopted.
For many, the Local Authority Social Workers recommend that a child is adopted because there are significant concerns that parents are unable to care for them and that it is best that the child no longer lives with them. Birth parents need involvement, information, understanding, empathy and respect from professionals throughout all stages of this process in order to not look at it as abandoning their child, rather, making the right decision for the child and therefore a responsible and caring action.
This new e-learning course has been launched to help practitioners understand more about the adoption process, the impact on the birth family and the support available to those who have their child adopted. This course will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete depending on your depth of reflection and access to related websites. The course can be found at the following link:
(Please note an error message may show when clicking the link. Cancel this message and click the 'play' button on screen to begin).
New Herefordshire substance misuse treatment service operating from April
Herefordshire Recovery Service is a new service commissioned by Herefordshire Council that opens across the whole of the county on 1st April 2021, offering free and confidential support for adults, young people and families around alcohol and other drugs.
Delivered by Turning Point in partnership with Herefordshire HealthWatch, the integrated substance misuse service will replace services currently provided by We Are With You (formerly known as Addaction) and continue to support service users already in treatment. Read more about the new service in their first newsletter below:
3rd March 2021
Host: Catherine Randall (@NHSSafeguarding) Click here to join
4th March 2021
Host: Cathy Sheehan (@NHSSafeguarding) Click here to join
Important date for your diary
HSCP Summit for Strategic Leaders and Senior Managers in Herefordshire Wednesday 17 March.
We invite you to book a place at our next Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Summit, being held on Wednesday 17 March from 9.30am to 11.00am. During the two hour session specifically targeted at Strategic Leaders and Senior Managers, you will:
Learn about HSCP - updates on the HSCP Strategic Plan, Priorities and Key areas of work
Get involved in our Pledgeto support children and families in Herefordshire
Participate in aWorkshop on ways to safeguard children and young people during the Pandemic
We are keen for as many organisations to be represented as possible, so please consider passing these details onto all Strategic Leaders and Senior Managers within your wider networks.
The past year has of course been difficult for everyone, including in the area of safeguarding, but we know that many professionals have adapted to the challenging times that we have all faced and come up with new and innovative ways of working.
We would love to showcase these to help inspire others, so if you have a successful new way of working, or just a general good news story about working in safeguarding in the last year that you would like us to include in a future bulletin then please get in touch with the team and let us know.
Important date for your diary HSCP Physical Abuse Webinar - Tuesday 9th March.
We invite you to book a place at our latest virtual event, which is the introduction of a new webinar on the subject of physical abuse, being held on Tuesday 9 March from 9.15am to 10.00am. The 45 minute session will cover the following topics:
Definitions, Prevalence, Perspective, Policies and Procedures
Disclosures and Think the Unthinkable
Police involvement and advice
Making a referral
MASH discussions and outcomes
Specific issues including Abusive Head Trauma and medicals
Attendees will hear Herefordshire safeguarding professionals describe issues around physical abuse in this informative specially produced Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership webinar. A recording of the event will be available to view on our YouTube channel, for anyone unable to attend on the day.
