Effective involvement of adults and / or their representatives in safeguarding meetings requires practitioners to be creative and to think in a person-centred way.
The following should be considered when planning the meeting:
- How should the adult be involved? Is it best for the adult to attend the meeting, or would they prefer to feed in their views and wishes in a different way, e.g. a written statement? Is it best to hold one big meeting, or a number of smaller meetings?
- Where is the best place to hold the meeting? Where might the adult feel most at their ease and able to participate?
- How long should the meeting last? What length of time will meet the adult’s needs and make it manageable for them?
- When should breaks be scheduled to best meet the adult’s needs?
- What time of the day would be best for the adult? Consider the impact of a person’s sleep patterns, medication, condition, dependency, care and support needs;
- What will the agenda be? Is the adult involved in setting the agenda?
- What preparation needs to be undertaken with the adult? How can they be supported to understand the purpose and expected outcome of the meeting?
- Who is the best person to chair? What can they do to gain the trust of the adult?
- Will all the meeting members behave in a way that includes the adult in the discussion?
- How can meeting members be encouraged to communicate and behave inclusively, using language the person understands?
- Representation by informal carers/family or advocates.
(Taken from Bournemouth and Poole Policies and Procedures for Adults at Risk)