Page 22 - TSAB Adult B FINAL (1)

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Learning Point 14: Where there are multiple roles in a multi-disciplinary team, it is
important that when team members are employed by another agency and they have a
specific role (i.e. Social worker) that team members are clear on those roles and
recording is carried out on the appropriate system so that statutory and other
assessment information is available to other social workers in receipt of referrals.
Learning Point 15: Those with statutory responsibilities under the Care Act should be
able to evidence an understanding of the various sections of that Act and offer support
and guidance to others.
Learning Point 16: It is important to recognise the skills of organisational safeguarding
leads and to approach them for advice and support.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND FAMILY

6.65. At the start of this review process, there was a belief by those involved, that Josh had no family who
he was in contact with who could support him, stating that he was estranged from his family. It was
later ascertained on making contact with family that this was not the case and that, as described
earlier in this report, Josh had very supportive family members. It cannot be known now, why Josh
chose not to tell professionals of these contacts and it is not for this review to make any assumptions.

6.66. The author has reviewed information from the family and can propose the following analysis and
learning.

6.67. Josh identified to various members of staff that he had a desire to reunite and build relationships with
his family. Records and information for this review, do not identify evidence that this was explored
any further in terms of which family he was talking about. The family knew that Josh desperately
wanted to have his mother in his life; this was known to be a very negative relationship. It may have
been that Josh was highlighting this as a specific relationship that he wanted to address. Indeed,
anecdotal evidence from the family and the professionals in this review, identified that Josh gravitated
toward women who were mother figures and being those that he built relationships with and trusted.

6.68. The family members detailed within this report, who the author spoke to, stated that they had
reduced contact in order to protect their own and their children’s health and well-being, but stated
that if they had known the extent to which Josh was harming himself with insulin then they definitely
would have preferred to know this. They also indicated that they would have possibly offered him
accommodation rather than see him homeless. Much of the details of the period that this review
covers were not known to the family at the time.

6.69. This produces a dilemma for professionals who firmly believed that Josh was estranged from his
family and that he had no support. As professionals had assessed that Josh had capacity regarding
decisions he was making in his life and that he had stated he had no support, they appeared to accept
this and there is no evidence that this was explored or challenged during any of the conversations that
they had with Josh. Josh had been well known to hospital services for many years and his family
details were recorded on systems on previous admissions.

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