Pembrokeshire review

Lead VAWDASV and Safeguarding Practitioner to work with primary care to strengthen links with local specialist domestic abuse services

Acute Services, supported by the Lead VAWDASV and Safeguarding Practitioner to review the documentation used in Emergency Departments to record routine enquiry

The Corporate Safeguarding Team to recommend to the Strategic Safeguarding Working Group that Ask and Act becomes routine rather than targeted enquiry within Emergency Departments across Hywel Dda University Health Board

Clinical leads for Acute, Community, Primary Care and Mental Health services, supported by the Lead VAWDASV and Safeguarding Practitioner to communicate expectations in relation to the importance and means of recording whether patients attend alone or are accompanied during presentations/consultations

The Corporate Safeguarding Team to audit the embedding of the Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Ask and Act Policy in practice and report to the Strategic Safeguarding Working Group

Primary Care to improve compliance with Group 2 Ask and Act training and establish a mechanism for monitoring and reporting compliance

Primary Care to provide assurance that GP Practices have embedded the Mid and West Wales Regional Pathfinder for GPs based on the Safelives GP Pathfinder guidance

Primary Care to ensure that GPs, Dental Practices and other primary care providers have access to Live Fear Free Helpline resources to display in settings

All Family Liaison Officers to receive training in relation to Domestic Homicide Reviews to improve their understanding of the review process and to enable them to inform families at the appropriate time that a review will be undertaken

Implementation of a force wide policy relating to the sharing of information for the purpose of DHRs to ensure a consistency of approach across the four Local Authority areas

Learning from this IMR be shared within the organisation to support the understanding of o Expected practice as it relates to the health and social care considerations of all patients and service users and o The principles of Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 within the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust

The Safeguarding Team to audit the embedding of the WAST Ask and Act Policy in practice and report to the relevant Strategic Safeguarding Group

Commission a service/services that can provide a bespoke, tailored service to respond to the needs of older people who are experiencing domestic abuse

Ensure that the needs of older people experiencing domestic abuse, in particular those living in rural areas are fully taken into account in the review of the regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence strategy

Co-design an information campaign with older people that is aimed at increasing older people and the general publics’ awareness and recognition of abuse and where/how to access information and support locally. This information should be made available in community settings accessed by older people e.g. GP surgeries, pharmacies, libraries, community centres and supermarkets

Ensure that a bespoke training programme relating to older people and domestic abuse is available to practitioners as part of the Regional Safeguarding Board’s workforce development programme

To share learning from the implementation of IRIS in Carmarthenshire to shape the roll out across Mid and West Wales

Pilot and evaluate a Health Based IDVA approach within Hywel Dda University Health Board

To develop a briefing that can be shared with members of DHR Panels outlining role, responsibilities and expectations

As part of first meeting with Review Panels ensure that reference is made to panel members attending for the duration of the meetings as part of her expectations of the Panel

Quality Assurance tools used across Primary Care to be revised and updated to ensure they are consistent with the Intercollegiate documents for child and adult safeguarding and the VAWDASV National Training Framework

Welsh Government to mandate the adoption of IRIS within GP settings across Wales and provide sufficient resource to support implementation

Welsh Government to clarify expectations relating to the implementation of the National Training Framework and Ask and Act in Primary care services specifically those services which are independently contracted e.g. GP and Dental Practices

Public bodies should take action to ensure public health messaging is communicated more effectively to Older People

Bespoke, evidence-based training modules relating to older people’s experiences of VAWDASV should be included in the VAWDASV National Training Framework to improve identification and practitioner/service responses across all relevant authorities and specialist VAWDASV providers.

Organisations falling outside the remit of the National Training Framework should be encouraged by Welsh Government to include bespoke, evidence-based training on the experiences and needs of older people experiencing VAWDASV within their workforce development plans.

Welsh Government should establish a national taskforce to develop a strategic and system wide approach to improving responses to older people in order to ensure that the experiences and needs of older people are taken fully into account in national strategy and policy, good practice is disseminated and that any guidance issued covers the specific needs of older people.