Brent review

That the Home Office commission a review of the statutory guidance to include more detail about roles and responsibilities in the event of disputes between any combination of Panel Members, Chairs, report authors and the CSP. It is not uncommon for these to occur and the current guidance is ambiguous.

That this report be considered and work undertaken to ensure that:
 The recommendations below have been implemented
 That there are no outstanding lessons to be learned from this DHR that remain
unaddressed (including paragraph 16.1)

Create a post within the Housing Options Team to be the lead officer for Domestic Violence

Develop and implement an interim (paper) structured social risk assessment tool for midwives to utilise at the maternity booking assessment until such time as the electronic maternity patient record is implemented. This will serve to act as aide memoir to discuss key issues such as domestic abuse, and provide a vehicle for explicit recording of domestic abuse as a routine enquiry. If routine enquiry is not feasible at the first appointment because the woman is accompanied this will be recorded and the routine enquiry made at a subsequent appointment.

Social workers will attempt to engage fathers and or father figures in assessments.

Framework I records will be created for fathers/father figures children subject of social work assessment.

A system to ‘show all related people’ is investigated for the ICS in Brent

All open cases will have an up to date chronology

MASH systems are implemented in Brent

IDVAs are co-located in Brent Social Care to assist social workers in their day to day assessment of domestic abuse referrals

A Children’s IDVA is co-located in Brent Social Care to assist workers to engage children in assessments.

Brent Social Care considers developing and implementing a system to introduce more scrutiny to the management of repeat referrals.

Brent Social Care considers implementing a handover meeting for open cases or recently closed cases that transfer across locality services.

Brent Social Care audits cases to ensure that partners are suitably engaged in CIN and child protection work.

Brent Social Care robustly implements CIN planning and review systems

All decisions to proceed to ICPC are discussed with SCD5.

The FHA Performa should be reviewed and harmonised for all Health Visitors working in the ICO. The Performa should be much more transparent and comprehensive to include a separate social history section.

Health visiting teams should have an appropriate guideline protocol for handover of cases during periods of leave particularly long term leave. Information should be clearly evident in case records and to other professionals. The clinical leads should discuss all cases with the health professionals within the team and allocate accordingly. This should include documented evidence on the key events sheet of a signed handover and the name of allocated Health Visitor in their absence. These cases should be individually reviewed with case records available at the point of handover

All Health visiting staff working in CSB must attend single agency child protection training level 3. In accordance with the intercollegiate document 2010 assuming competence at level 1+2 first.

Implement a Guideline for management of faxes received into Willesden Health visiting team. This needs to include documentation and actions on the new RIO system introduced July 2011

To work in line Harrow community services CSB should consider a specialist Health Visitor to caseload victims of current or historical domestic violence

Develop and implement an interim (paper) structured social risk assessment tool for midwives to utilise at the maternity booking assessment until such time as the electronic maternity patient record is implemented. This will serve to act as aide memoir to discuss key issues such as domestic abuse, and provide a vehicle for explicit recording of domestic abuse as a routine enquiry. If routine enquiry is not feasible at the first appointment because the woman is accompanied this will be recorded and the routine enquiry made at a subsequent appointment. Nb this is already incorporated into the design of the incipient maternity electronic patient record due for implementation in 2013.

Re-launch of the London Probation Trust Safeguarding Procedures locally in Brent.

Local drive to increase home visiting in the borough

The introduction of reflective supervision for Probation Staff in Brent.

Brent BOCU must ensure that when a victim wishes to withdraw an allegation of domestic violence, the case is reviewed by a Community Safety Unit (CSU) supervisor.

Brent BOCU must ensure that when officers attend a Domestic Incident, intelligence research is undertaken to include at least the last five years using the Integrated Information Platform, as required by the MPS Operating Procedures. Where possible officers should be encouraged to search beyond five years.

Brent BOCU must ensure that supervision and risk assessment during the secondary investigation of domestic violence is conducted by trained CSU supervisors. This is required by both the MPS Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and by CAADA guidelines.

Brent BOCU must comply with the Domestic Violence SOP regarding the completion of Book 124D. The information and risk assessment must be transferred to the CRIS report.

Brent BOCU must ensure that Book 124Ds are supervised when they are completed and also when received by the Community Safety Unit (CSU.).

Brent BOCU must ensure that the supervision of Domestic Violence investigation is intrusive and contain well detailed action plans, and reviews of the risk. Risk assessment must be dynamic.

Brent BOCU must ensure that all response team officers are aware of the DASH risk assessment model, and that the information is correctly recorded on the relevant CRIS report.

Brent BOCU CSU must ensure that when a Book 124D is submitted incomplete, missing or of a poor standard, it is immediately referred back to the original supervisor.

Brent BOCU must ensure that when children come to notice in the process of a domestic violence investigation, a Merlin entry is completed (vide Every Child Matters (ECM).

The MPS must ensure that all relevant officers and staff are trained in the use of the book 124D, with the DASH risk assessment model. Also, that supervisors are trained and encouraged to intrusively supervise risk assessments.

That the MPS update the CRIS system to reflect the new DASH model rather than the older SPECCS+ system.

That the MPS may consider changes to the Standard Operating Procedures for the investigation of the Domestic Violence so that initial standard risk assessments are subjected to secondary supervision by the BOCU CSU, to ensure that the risk level is correct.

Within GP protected learning sessions GPs, practice nurses and other clinicians working within the GP services should receive dedicated training sessions on:
• Domestic violence to include a DV Risk Assessment Matrix
• Information sharing
Challenge and support with other practitioners outside the Health economy

All documents pertaining to patients are scanned in to their records as appropriate. To check with audit after 6 months.

Domestic violence and child abuse should be a differential diagnosis during consultations

All documentation has to be entered onto the IT systems held by the trust

The UK Border Agency should make immediate efforts to re-documents immigrants as soon as they are encountered and keep detailed records of the progress.

The UK Border Agency must improve the timeliness of the processing of immigration applications, especially where vulnerable adults or children are concerned.

Other statutory agencies, whether responsible for victims or suspects should routinely and immediately contact the UK Border Agency to share information and intelligence. (This is already contained within the “Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”).