What is a Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR)?

Section 44 of the Care Act 2014 states that SABs must arrange a SAR when there is concern that the SAB or partner agencies could have worked more effectively to safeguard an adult in its area with care and support needs.

The purpose of the SAR is not to blame agencies for any mistakes that may have been made. Its purpose is to learn lessons. A SAR should be completed by an independent person suitably qualified to look into what happened and make recommendations so that agencies can learn from events and make changes to ensure something similar does not happen again in future.

Section 44 of The Care Act 2014 outlines that a Safeguarding Adults Board must arrange for there to be a review of a case involving an adult in its area with needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority has been meeting any of those needs) if:

1. There is reasonable cause for concern about how the SAB, members of it or other persons with relevant functions worked together to safeguard the adult, and
   
   
2. Condition 1 or 2 is met:

Condition 1

• The adult has died, and
• The SAB knows or suspects that the death resulted from abuse or neglect (whether or not it knew or suspected the abuse or neglect before the adult died).

Condition 2

• The adult is still alive, and
• The SAB knows or suspects that the adult has experienced serious abuse or neglect.

The Brent Safeguarding Adults Board may also undertake a discretionary Safeguarding Adults Review if a case is referred which does not meet the above criteria, but the Safeguarding Adults Board is of the view that there are lessons to be learned.

Brent Safeguarding Adults Board only considers cases where a person with care and support needs has died or suffered serious abuse or neglect within the London Borough of Brent.

In order to share a Brent case to be considered for either a mandatory or discretionary Safeguarding Adults Review, please email Brent.SafeguardingPartnerships@brent.gov.uk asking for the Brent SAR consideration form to be sent.

The BSAB have also produced a 7 minute briefing - What is a Safeguarding Adults Review? For more information click here