The Lambeth Safeguarding Adults Board recently launched new Mental Capacity Act Guidance.

This practical, easy to use tool was created by the Mental Capacity Act Subgroup and aims to give front-line workers quick access to guidance on the decision making process. It is available for use by all professionals who have to make best interests decisions, and is designed to work across multiple organisations.

Last week, this guidance tool received its formal launch at an event which focused on the theme of best interests decision making. The event was attended by a wide range of professionals working across Lambeth, and speakers from Kings College Hospital Dental Department and Fairlie House in West Norwood were able to share examples of local best practice. Attendees also heard from Alex Ruck-Keene on the application of law and best practice, and Dr Lucy Stephenson from South London and Maudlsey NHFT who spoke on the importance of encouraging advance decision making in mental health. Later in the afternoon, professionals were joined by members of the wider public, to hear from the British Institute of Human Rights, PohWER advocacy service and Compassion in Dying.

To save your own copy of the guidance, and to find out more about the Mental Capacity Act, please visit the LSAB’s Mental Capacity Act section of the website.

A key strategic aim of the Lambeth Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB) is to raise awareness of adult safeguarding in Lambeth. This includes ensuring that everyone knows how to raise concerns that someone may be being abuse or neglected.

In 2017/18, the LSAB undertook an awareness survey to try and find out more about what people would do if they or someone they knew was being abused or neglect. Some respondents talked about how reporting adult safeguarding concerns would make them feel afraid or vulnerable, and that they might just hope someone else would do it.

The LSAB wants to make sure that people feel confident in reporting safeguarding concerns. As part of this aim, the Community Reference Group have developed a new poster which aims to quickly and simply outline who individuals can talk to if they have a concern. In outlining the different ways people can report concerns, we hope that people will feel more comfortable in approaching someone they trust to report their concerns.

By reporting abuse, you can help bring it to an end. When you report abuse, people will:

• listen to you

• take your concerns seriously

• respond sensitively

• make enquiries about the concerns

• consider the wishes of the adult at risk

• talk to the police if it is a criminal matter

• support the adult at risk to achieve the changes they want, wherever possible

• develop a plan with the adult at risk to keep them safe in the future

• consider if anyone else is at risk.

This new poster can be now be downloaded from the LSAB website alongside other information leaflets, including our easy-read document.

You can also find out more about safeguarding adults and how to raise concerns by exploring our website further.

The UN's International Day of Persons with Disabilities takes place every year on the 3rd December. In 2018 the focus is on empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality. To mark this day, Lauren Johnson-King, the Direct Payments Team Leader & Assistant Director from Disability Advice Service Lambeth, has written a guest post to highlight the important work they do to give disabled people a voice:

Disability Advice Service Lambeth (dasl) is a Disabled People’s Organisation who have worked with, and on behalf of Disabled people in Lambeth since 2001. We work with people of all ages, and from all impairment groups including people with mental health problems. We also provide some of our services to carers, including parent carers, and older people.

Our charity is controlled by Disabled people through our Management Committee, which has a majority of Disabled trustees, and our growing membership.

Our aim is to enable Disabled people to achieve their legal rights, have control over how and where they live, play an active role in their communities, grow their skills and have a voice to influence change.

We provide a range of high quality information, advice and advocacy services as well as support with direct payments, community development work, and activities programmes, including the London Stroke Choir and IntoSport project.

Our independent advocacy service supports many Disabled and older Lambeth residents to exercise their rights as well as enabling Lambeth Council fulfil its duties under the Care Act 2014 by ensuring those eligible can access independent advocacy support during various social care processes.

Our advocates support people who have difficulties speaking up, understanding information or exercising their rights to say what they want, secure their rights and be more involved in processes and decisions about their lives. We support people with a range of issues and in a variety of different situations including people who are being abused. We can support people to understand what abuse is and how to get help and advice about keeping safe. We can support people to be part of safeguarding enquiries that Lambeth Adult Social Care undertake and speak up on behalf of people to ensure action is taken to stop, prevent or minimise the risk of abuse occurring.

We operate from fully accessible office premises at “we are 336” in Brixton, which is a Hate Crime Reporting Centre. This means that Disabled people and others concerned for their safety and welfare can visit or contact the centre and receive advice, advocacy and support from our Disability Hate Crime Advocacy and Outreach Worker.

In 2017-18 we supported 27 people to report a Disability Hate Crime to the police, the highest in London.

We are a proud partner of the Independent Living and Carer’s Partnership (ILCP), a group of local charities working together for a better Lambeth. Our Community Development, Direct Payments Support and Professional Advocacy services are provided through the ILCP.

If you want to find out more about dasl and the work we do in Lambeth, please visit our website: http://www.disabilitylambeth.org.uk/ or call us on 020 7738 5656.

GALOP have released a new report on LGBT+ people’s experience of domestic abuse. The report provides analysis of 626 cases reported to Galop between January 2013 and August 2017 that were domestic abuse related, and outlines a set of recommendations which call for the continued need for specialist LGBT+ services and for services to acknowledge and recognise unique experiences of LGBT+ victims/survivors of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse incidents were reported from across all London boroughs. Lambeth is the borough with the highest proportion of reported incidents, a reflection of our borough’s demographics.

The report also shows that LGBT+ victims/survivors disclosing domestic abuse often report multiple vulnerabilities as a result of their sexual orientation, gender identity, physical/mental ill health or substance abuse. 55% of victims/survivors disclosed a disability. Previous studies suggest that those LGBT+ victims/survivors who identify as disabled or have a long-term impairment, are more likely to have experienced at least one form of domestic abuse during their lifetime. This report also supports previous finding that LGBT+ victims accessing service present disproportionally higher levels of additional risks, and are more likely to disclose drug or alcohol issues and poorer mental health.

The full report can be found here.

GALOP offer emotional and practical support for LGBT+ people experiencing domestic abuse. People can call their London help line on 020 7704 2040, or report incidents online. For further information on GALOP can help and to access resources for professionals, please visit the GALOP website.