Making Safeguarding Personal: Supporting increased involvement of service users

This resource underlines the way in which effective user involvement can support delivery of the six core safeguarding principles in practice as outlined in the Department of Health Care and Support Statutory Guidance, revised in 2017 (paragraph 4.13). Involvement supports development of effective safeguarding practice, informed by people whose self-confidence, selfesteem and resilience can be developed through that involvement. A board that works hard to achieve meaningful involvement within the board itself and across the range of sub groups reflects a commitment to working in a way that is both accountable and transparent.
There are very positive examples of service user involvement in a range of activities, from safeguarding adults boards, (as outlined in part two of this resource). Underpinning these are guiding principles for this involvement:

• Equality: treating people with ‘lived experience’ as equal partners in the safeguarding adults board and with respect for their strengths, knowledge and experience.
• Diversity: making sure the voice of all of the different groups that make up communities can be heard by the safeguarding adults board, including groups who are seldom heard.
• Accessibility: making the involvement processes as simple and accessible as possible, with easy to understand information about what involvement entails. Linking up with all sectors of the community.
• Reciprocity: making sure that people’s experience and knowledge is recognised and rewarded in some way. This may be in a range of different ways, including payment and supporting personal development.

The learning from some safeguarding adults boards, as well as from the research literature (see case studies and references sections of this resource), underlines some key ingredients that are needed for effective engagement:

• senior leadership and support for user involvement
• taking on board the learning from research and current practice
• taking the necessary steps to develop an enthusiastic and committed core group of service users and community organisations
• the support of staff who believe strongly in the importance of user involvement, especially in order to sustain involvement
• skilled facilitation of service user involvement groups
• adequate resourcing to improve the likelihood of delivering positive outcomes from user involvement
• tangible recognition of the contribution that service users make
• clarity about the purpose of involvement
• developing a range of tasks and products for involvement to achieve, using a variety of methods that work for a range of people
• measuring the impact of user involvement and responding to what is learned from this.