SAR Tom podcast transcript

Thank you for listening to this short podcast on behalf of the West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board, about our Safeguarding Adult Review for Tom. This may be referred to throughout this podcast as ‘the SAR’, or ‘the Review’.

Firstly, the Board would like to acknowledge how grateful we are for Tom’s support and engagement throughout the SAR process. Tom’s invaluable contributions to the Review process have supported us to tell Tom’s story. It’s Tom’s hope that, through sharing his experience, there will be process improvements that will help to ensure that nobody else has to go through an experience like his. Reducing risk for others in this way is, Tom has shared, an important part of his recovery process.

I’d now like to tell you a little bit about Tom and his story. At the time of recording, Tom is 41 years of age. Tom has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, complex postural needs, and has a sight impairment, but he refuses to be defined by his disabilities. Before 2016, Tom enjoyed socialising with his friends, playing computer games, and was the Chairperson for the local members group. After six months in this role, Tom also started to attend the local SCOPE as a member.

Tom used to live with his ex-wife and his live-in carer, who was paid to support him with all his care and support needs, and was sourced from a care agency. Funding for this care was through a direct payment. However, from 2016, Tom began to experience neglect and psychological abuse by his then wife, and paid carer. The abuse and neglect became worse over time and Tom became isolated from his family and friends.

In 2020, Tom’s friend became concerned about his circumstances, following contact from Tom. This led to Tom’s friend contacting Tom’s mother, who subsequently made a safeguarding referral to West Sussex County Council. The safeguarding process identified concerns about serious neglect, coercive control, and intimidation. Tom was also underweight and was not being supported with his personal care or to get out of bed. His then wife and paid carer were also having an affair and would leave Tom alone in the house for long periods of time.

The concern being raised led to a robust and coordinated response arranged by adult social care to support Tom to safely move into temporary residential accommodation in August 2020. Tom’s ex-wife and paid carer were arrested in the first case of its kind in the UK. On 12 May 2023, both were found guilty of holding a person in slavery or servitude and jailed for eight years and a further three years on licence. Tom now lives in his own accommodation in Chichester.

Now I have shared a little about Tom, I would like to explain the findings from his Review. In August 2023, a referral was made to the Safeguarding Adults Board by West Sussex County Council. It was acknowledged that there were missed opportunities in Tom’s care, and that there is learning which could be taken forward to minimise the risk of something similar happening in the future.

Tom’s Review identified that improvements were needed in a number of areas, some of which I will describe now.

• The review found there was limited evidence of strength based and person-centred approaches. For example, there were several times where professionals visited the home but didn’t speak to Tom alone – his then wife and paid carer were always in attendance. This meant that Tom was given little to no control over his care and life and left him without a voice. A strength-based approach should protect and promote a person’s independence and control over their lives, resilience, choice, and wellbeing. This was not evidenced in Tom’s circumstances.
• Another key finding was a that there was limited evidence of appropriate information sharing and multi-agency working. This resulted in significant information not being known by all professionals involved in the care and support of Tom, which may have changed decision-making and outcomes.
• Another significant finding was a lack of professional curiosity. This is the capacity and skills of communication to explore and understand what is happening for a person, rather than making assumptions or taking things at face value. It requires skills of looking, listening, asking direct questions and being able to hold difficult conversations. Tom told the Reviewer that his ex-wife and carer used to lie to professionals and would cover up the real situation. If agencies were more professionally curious, this may have led to Tom’s abuse and neglect coming to light sooner.

The full analysis of the key findings can be found in sections 9 and 10 of the report. Six recommendations have been made in the Review as a result of these findings, and the Board will ensure these recommendations are taken forward through a multi-agency action plan, to reduce future risk.

So, what can you do to improve practice and reflect on the findings of Tom’s Review? For this Review to be meaningful and help others like Tom, we would encourage all professionals to use the Review to reflect on how you can update your practice. You can find the full Review and accompanying learning briefing on our website. The learning briefing includes questions for you and your colleagues to consider.

There are also other useful learning resources which are relevant to this Review, that can be found on our website. In particular, we have learning briefings and podcasts on:

• Safeguarding Early Warning Signs
• Person-Centred Approaches
• Professional Curiosity
• Risk Assessment, and
• Multi-Agency Working and Communication

On our website you’ll also find useful links to all our safeguarding policies and procedures, information for professionals, and other Reviews and podcasts.

Thank you for your time to listen to this podcast today. We appreciate you moving forwards with us to ensure the learning from this Review makes a real difference for those who we are supporting in West Sussex.