Safeguarding, Looked after Children and Child Death Review

Safeguarding, Looked after Children and Child Death Review

Safeguarding is an integral part of providing high-quality health care, it means protecting a person’s health, wellbeing and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

Safeguarding children, young people and adults is everyone’s responsibility

The NHS England Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults at Risk in the NHS: Safeguarding Accountability and Assurance Framework sets out the outcomes and corresponding indicators that will be used to hold NHS commissioners and providers to account for improvements in health outcomes. In particular, there’s an expectation that commissioners and providers will have strong safeguarding leadership that provides expertise and commitment at all levels of their organisation and that they are fully engaged and in support of local accountability and assurance structures, in particular via the local Safeguarding Children Partnership and Safeguarding Adults Board.

Safeguarding in Surrey Heartlands

The safety and welfare of children and adults is of paramount importance to NHS Surrey Heartlands.

NHS Surrey Heartlands host safeguarding adults and children, Looked after Children (LAC) and Child Death Review arrangements and employ a Surrey Wide Safeguarding Team, covering safeguarding children, safeguarding adults, looked after children and child death review.

The team works across Surrey supporting 2 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) - NHS Surrey Heartlands and NHS Frimley - in meeting their statutory functions for safeguarding children, adults, looked after children and child death review.

The team provides strategic leadership, expert advice to NHS Surrey Heartlands, NHS Frimley and partner organisation to ensure that all of the services we commission provide high quality, safe and effective care.

The team consists of the following roles:

  • Associate Director Safeguarding 
  • Designated Nurse Looked after Children
  • Designated Doctor for Looked After Children
  • Designated Nurse for Safeguarding Children 
  • Designated Doctor Safeguarding Children 
  • Designated GP Safeguarding Children and Adults
  • Named GP Safeguarding Children
  • Designated Nurse Safeguarding Adults
  • Transition Safeguarding Advisor
  • Safeguarding / Looked after Children Business team
  • Designated Nurse for Child Death Reviews / Health Lead for Case Reviews
  • Child Health and Wellbeing Professional and Lead for Learning from Child Deaths
  • Named Nurse for Child Death Reviews & Health Lead for CCG Joint Agency Safeguarding
  • Child Death Review Nurse
  • CDOP Coordinator

Surrey Safeguarding Adult Board

Surrey Safeguarding Adults Board (SSAB) is a multiagency partnership that has representation from organisations that support adults who have care or support need of which NHS Surrey Heartlands is a partner.

Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership

In line with the reforms arising from the 2016 Wood Review, provisions in the Children and Social Work Act 2017 and statutory guidance in Working Together 2018, The Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) was established to replace the Surrey Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB).

The SSCP arrangements are led, jointly and equally, by Surrey County Council, Surrey Police and NHS Surrey Heartlands (on behalf of all ICBs and NHS providers in Surrey).

Surrey Child Death Review Partnership

In line with statutory guidance in Working Together 2018 and the Child Death Review Statutory and Operational Guidance, the responsibilities for child deaths fall to a partnership of the local authority and NHS Integrated Care Boards. The arrangements for responding to child deaths in Surrey, are designed to ensure compliance with the guidance and deliver strong and effective partnership arrangements.