1. NHS Digital is the national information and technology partner of the health and care system. Our team of information analysis, technology and project management experts create, deliver and manage the crucial digital systems, services, products and standards upon which health and care professionals depend. During the 2016/17 financial year, NHS Digital published 292 statistical reports. Our vision is to harness the power of information and technology to make health and care better.
2. A safeguarding concern is where a council is notified about a risk of abuse, which instigates an investigation under the local safeguarding procedures. The initial investigation may then develop into a formal investigation, known as an enquiry. Enquiries categorised as opened during the reporting year may not necessarily have concluded during the reporting year.
3. Details of Section 42 of the Care Act 2014 can be found here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/42/enacted
4. These are series of statistics that are in the testing phase and not yet fully developed
5. Changes to the collection in 2015/16 include:
· All elements of Table SG1f, which includes the total count of safeguarding concerns received in the year, Section 42 enquiries and 'other' (non-Section 42) enquiries that commenced in the year, became mandatory to complete.
· Table SG2b expanded the location of risk categories to include "in the community (excluding community service)" and further breakdowns for care home type (nursing, residential) and hospital type (acute, mental health, community).
· Table SG2c (counts of enquiries by action, result and source of risk) was split into two new tables to aid ease of collection.
· For the first time we have included analysis of tables SG4a and SG4b, which collect data on Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) elements of enquiries that concluded during the year, although these data remain voluntary to collect and submit. Users should note that the analysis will be based on data received from 93 out of 152 Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibility (CASSRs). MSP is about having conversations with people about how to respond in safeguarding situations in a way that enhances involvement, choice and control as well as improving quality of life, wellbeing and safety. The Care Act advocates a person centred rather than process driven approach.
6. The report is accompanied by a Data Quality Statement and a quantitative data quality assessment based on the completeness of the data submitted and a number of logical data consistency checks. Submissions were received from all 152 CASSRs in England.
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