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What can and cannot be learned from serious case reviews of the care and treatment of adults with learning disabilities in England? messages for social workers
- Authors:
- MANTHORPE Jill, MARTINEAU Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 45(1), 2015, pp.331-348.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) for adults are commissioned to examine the ways in which local professionals and agencies worked together to safeguard a vulnerable adult or take place following harm or death of a vulnerable adult where there are concerns about agencies' actions or engagement. There is no national system in England for their collation or analysis. This paper presents the results of a study investigating SCRs for vulnerable adults where the person who was at risk of harm, harmed or died had a learning disability. Eighteen SCRs were identified and a further three where there are grounds for considering that the victim may have had such a disability. Three themes are presented: staff relationships; family and carers; and biography and chronology to draw out material relevant to social work policy and practice. At a time when the English government has announced plans for SCRs for adults to move to a statutory basis, this paper draws attention to their potential as learning materials, but also the risks of seeing them as presenting a full picture of practice. The case for local flexibility is argued. (Publisher abstract)
Followers or leaders? What is the role for social care practitioners in annual health checks for adults with learning disabilities?
- Authors:
- MANTHORPE Jill, MARTINEAU Steven
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 14(1), March 2010, pp.56-66.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
English government policy promotes health checks for adults with learning disabilities based on the need to address lack of access to healthcare services and poor health outcomes for this group of citizens. This paper highlights the findings of a scoping review of the literature carried out in 2009 to examine the implications of a national system of health checks for the work of practitioners in social care services. The review found little in the research literature relevant to social care practice and concluded that there is a need to consider the possible roles of social care staff in initiating health checks. The reviews also suggested the possible involvement of social care staff in decision making around issues of consent, social care practice in recording and implementing the recommendations of such checks. Finally, the review suggested that staff should consider their possible roles as escorts, chaperones and supporters with communications, and that the presence of regulatory scrutiny of their participation in this activity was required.
Working on person-centred planning: from amber to green light?
- Authors:
- DOWLING Sandra, MANTHORPE Jill, COWLEY Sarah
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 11(1), March 2007, pp.65-82.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
This article reviews the practice and policy based literature on person-centred planning in learning disability services in England. Its aim is to identify the implications for the workforce in practice. The analysis found that implementation is often described as partial or slow and characterizes reasons for this at a number of levels, including the slow pace of change in service culture and power relations, immutable funding structures, services’ inflexible infrastructures, high levels of staff turnover and lack of training, inexperience among service management, inadequate staff supervision, and ambiguity among some stakeholders. Little substantial critique exists of the model itself. Analysis of the literature further reveals that the implementation of person-centred planning in practice is assisted by policy encouragement, service development and investment, favourable case reports and personal accounts, practitioner enthusiasm and positive evaluations. This article explores these to consider what facilitates the adoption of new elements of practice.
An uncertain practice: social work support for disabled people and carers moving across local authority boundaries in England
- Authors:
- WHITE Caroline, MARSLAND Dave, MANTHORPE Jill
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Care and Caring, 3(3), 2019, pp.375-391.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
This article reports on a study of social work practice with care recipients choosing to relocate between English local administrative units. Data were collected from interviews with 20 social work practitioners from three areas, seeking their views through the use of vignettes. Participants reported that supporting relocation: requires time and planning; is conceptualised as a key transition for those moving; and exposes practitioners (and care recipients) to local variations and the potential for risk, and therefore uncertainty. New legal rights for care recipients may decrease the problems, but local variations will remain. (Edited publisher abstract)
Preventing abuse through pre-employment checks: an international review
- Authors:
- MANTHORPE Jill, LIPMAN Valerie
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Adult Protection, 17(6), 2015, pp.341-350.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to summarise the findings of a desk-based international review investigating the checking of staff and volunteers working with adults who are vulnerable or at risk (or similarly defined) receiving social care in their own homes, or in day centres or residential care. Design/methodology/approach: In England, as part of the government’s attempts to prevent harm to vulnerable people, employers must check if their staff or volunteers are barred from working with vulnerable adults in the health and care sectors or if they have a relevant criminal record. This review sought to explore practices elsewhere, with a view to informing policy and practice debates. The review was undertaken in winter 2014-2015. It mainly involved a search of internet-based material and databases. This was further informed by communications with experts and practitioners from different countries. Findings: The review found a variety of practices, ranging from no checks to substantial checks involving fingerprinting. Reasons for checks identified in different national contexts extend from efforts to stop fraudulent use of government subsidies to minimising the risk of harm to vulnerable adults, and more positively to enhance user and public trust in care providers. A small number of countries place particular emphasis on the rights of individuals to privacy and rehabilitation and this moral imperative overrides other policy goals. This review highlighted a lack of clarity in publicly available documents about the potentially multiple policy goals of different schemes and suggests that there may be advantages to clarifying the options available from other countries. Research limitations/implications: This review was confined to English language material and to material located through internet searching. Some material may not have been updated on internet sites. Originality/value: The details of the processes have not previously been collated to the best of the authors’ knowledge. (Publisher abstract)
Managers' and staff experiences of adult protection allegations in mental health and learning disability residential services: a qualitative study
- Authors:
- REES Paul, MANTHORPE Jill
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 40(2), March 2010, pp.513-529.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Adult protection policy slowly developed in England and Wales during the 1990s. In the same decade specialist residential services expanded for people with mental health problems and with learning disabilities. Many referrals to adult protection systems emanate from this sector but few result in conclusive outcomes. This article reports on a small study exploring the impact of adult protection legislation and guidance within a small number of residential adult mental health and learning disability units in England and Wales. The focus of the article is the issues for staff who have been accused of abuse and for the managers of such services during investigations. Data from interviews with 13 residential unit managers and 10 care workers, who were suspended following an allegation but later exonerated, are presented. Perceptions of the development of adult protection practice, policy and legislation were that these have generally led to positive outcomes. However, these data reveal other outcomes including service disruption, stress for residents, staff and managers. Multi-agency collaboration, transparency of practice, training, reflective practice, and effective supervision of frontline staff, appeared to assist managers and care workers in negotiating the positive and negative experiences of the implementation of adult protection systems.
Helping or hindering in adult safeguarding: an investigation of practice
- Authors:
- STEVENS Martin, MARTINEAU Stephen, NORRIE Caroline, MANTHORPE Jill
- Publisher:
- King's College London. Social Care Workforce Research Unit
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 104
- Place of publication:
- London
Examines current safeguarding practice in England where access to an adult at risk is obstructed by a third party and explores views about whether social workers (and others) need more legal powers. This study focused on adults who are able to make decisions – people who have ‘mental capacity’ – as there are laws covering people who are not able to make decisions. The study found that while problems with getting to talk to adults who appeared to be at risk of harm were common, most are resolved by good social work practice, creativity and persistence. However, in a small number of cases, gaining any access proves very difficult and sometimes impossible. In these cases, legal intervention is sometimes required, but sometimes, no access is achieved. Most of the social workers and older and disabled people who were interviewed or surveyed thought that, on balance, there should be additional legal powers for social workers, including a power of entry. The study concluded that without greater knowledge about the size and nature of the problem – and therefore the costs to local authorities and the outcomes for those involved – policy options may be limited. One option proposed was to ask local authorities to count the number of cases of sustained obstruction. This would need to define terms like sustained obstruction or serious problems. Increasing the scope of current practice guidance, particularly in relation to multi-agency working, was another policy option outlined by the research. (Edited publisher abstract)