About this page. This page summarises a Domestic Homicide Review published in the Home Office DHR Library. The full report is available at the source link below. Victim and perpetrator names are not included in extracted summaries on this page.
Source · Domestic Homicide Review
Sandwell review
CSP: Sandwell
Published: April 2023
Extracted: 6 recs
Statutory domestic homicide review under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. Source: Home Office DHR Library.
View full report (PDF) ↗
Source: Home Office DHR Library
Summary
The DHR highlights a lack of understanding and recognition of Child to Parent Abuse (CPA), failures in adopting a "Whole Family" approach, and challenges in accessing mental health services for the perpetrator. It also notes victim blaming and insufficient trauma-informed practice.
Extracted recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressed to |
|---|---|---|
| 1/ | That the Sandwell Children’s Safeguarding Partnership include a new annexe in the Sandwell Threshold Guidance document, that assists all professionals to understand, identify and assess the Early Help needs of the whole family in relation to CPA and promotes age-appropriate responses to child safeguarding. | Sandwell Children’s Safeguarding Partnership |
| 2/ | That the CPA Guidance currently being developed in Sandwell builds upon the current Home Office Guidance, by describing how Sandwell agencies should respond to CPA in a multi-disciplinary and holistic way, recognising both child and adult safeguarding, as well as the importance of a ‘Whole Family’ approach to assessing that family’s needs and wishes concerning CPA. The guidance should recognise that appropriate responses would take into full account the vulnerabilities of both the child and the adult and should be regularly reviewed where risks remain, as a child moves into adolescence or becomes a young adult. | Sandwell agencies |
| 3/ | That a multi-agency case study-based training package on CPA be created that could be delivered to frontline professionals, having as its objectives to increase understanding of CPA and awareness of best practice in line with the new Sandwell Guidance on CPA. | Sandwell agencies |
| 4/ | That the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHFT) should review existing pathways into the Trust’s mental health support and update them where necessary, and promote those pathways with the Black Country & West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Groups and all Hospital Trusts referring into BCHFT: • The pathways should facilitate professionals in Primary Care teams and Hospital Trusts with Emergency Departments, to make appropriate and timely referrals into the Trust Mental Health services. • It should enable those same professionals to correctly advise families when and if they can access mental health support for a family member who has capacity, where that person is either compliant or non-compliant. • It should identify how professionals and families (including ‘nearest relatives’) should access emergency assessment and potentially treatment, where they believe that family member to have a mental disorder of such a nature and degree that they are at risk of harm to themselves or others. • The pathways should also clearly identify to the public when and if self-referral into Trust services, or referral into mental health services on behalf of a family members, are appropriate. | Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHFT) | Black Country & West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Groups | all Hospital Trusts referring into BCHFT |
| 5/ | The Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust should ensure that their practitioners are aware of the scope and application of section 13(4) of the Mental Health Act and are aware and can advise in relation to when it may be appropriate for the ‘nearest relative’ seek an assessment from a Local Authority AMHP. The advice should complement current guidance to primary and secondary care in relation to seeking access to mental health support for patients. | Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group | Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust | University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust |
| 6/ | Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Adult Social Care and Birmingham City Council Adult Social Care should ensure and provide assurances that pathways and online guidance to section 13(4) MHA ‘nearest relative’ assessments requests are clear and accurate, properly publicised and understood by call handlers receiving requests for such support as well as those managing and providing this service within Adult Social Care. | Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Adult Social Care | Birmingham City Council Adult Social Care |
| Recommendations extracted from the published report. Source: Home Office DHR Library. View full report ↗ | ||