February 2020

The Trafford Adult Social Care Adults Policies, Procedures and Practice (APPP) and Trafford Strategic Safeguarding Partnership APPP sites have been merged into this one site.

This pages provides information about the latest changes, how to use this resource and its main features, including Amendments to this edition.

Contents

Finding your way around this Resource

This site is structured into different sections.

Front Page

There are five main buttons:

Procedures sections

From the Front Page, if you click on either ASC procedures or TSSP procedures it will take you to the Contents page, from where you can access either set of procedures.

Where ASC and TSSP have the same chapter titles, the TSSP ones have ‘(TSSP)’ written after the title.

There are a number of tabs on the left side of the screen (when viewed on a computer):

  • Home contains the Using the APPP Resource (this page) and Register with Us (see below);
  • Contents contains the policies, procedures and practice guidance chapters. If you click on either ‘ASC Contents’ or ‘TSSP Contents’ it will take you to the whole contents list, or you can see the different sections by clicking on the arrow on the right of either ‘ASC Contents’ or TSSP Contents;
  • Resources provides a range of relevant supporting information (see also below). The different sections can also be viewed by clicking on the arrow on the right of ‘Resources’;
  • Contact contains local contact details for Trafford teams, services and partner organisations.

Please contact Neil Humphreys, DoLS Quality Assurance Manager at Trafford Council, using the Contact Form, if you have any queries or suggestions.

Accessibility Options

This resource has a number of different options to aide online reading. When you are on the home page, choose ‘Accessibility’ drop down menu on the right side of the screen. There is large text, green, blue or pink backgrounds, yellow text on a black background or you can return to the default setting. You can use large text with any of the other options.

In addition, the site is designed to be accessible for users of text only and screen reader software programs which allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display. Our content is consistently structured, including headings, which makes using the software on our site easier. Also, when viewed though screen reader software, every page has a ‘Skip to main content’ link which allows software users to go straight to the main content of that page instead of receiving the full navigation options every time. Please share this information with blind or visually impaired colleagues.

Using the APPP Resource on Mobile Phones and Tablets

This resource works well on internet enabled mobile phones and tablets by typing in the weblink in the internet address bar. When used on a mobile phone, the website will immediately convert into a mobile phone friendly version, where the tabs sit behind the Menu button. If it does not work straightaway, tap on the refresh circle in the address bar.

If your phone or tablet has a reader option (it may be an ‘R’ or say ‘Reader’ in the address bar, you may have to install it), tap on it and it will convert the text into a more easy to read version for phones or tablets.

Resources

The Resources section contains a number of links and documents to supplement the information in chapters. It includes

For ease of use, if you can open the resource in two tabs next to each other you can click on the Resources section to consult related resources without leaving the chapter you are reading.

Reading Confirmation

This form, at the bottom of each chapter, enables staff to confirm they have read chapters in this APPP. This is useful for newly employed staff as part of their induction and for supervision, continuing professional development and team discussions for example. This is for those accessing either the Adult Social Care or the Trafford Strategic Safeguarding Partnership procedures.

When you complete and submit the form, it is stored in a secure database accessed only by Trafford managers.

ePractice

Some of the chapters in the Adult Social Care APPP (Assessment, Personalisation, Care and Support Planning, Adult Safeguarding and Mental Capacity) have epractice questions at the end, which help you test your understanding of the chapter and provide evidence for your continuing professional development.

At the top of the questions are some fields about who you are (name, job title, service name and email address) as well as where to send your results. It also asks for your manager’s email address.

The questions tare straightforward to answer. Some will only allow for a single choice of answer, for example true or false, and others have check boxes which allow you to tick as many as you feel apply.

Once you reach the end just click on the blue’ Submit’ button to send in your answers. All questions must be answered before you can do this. You will automatically be taken to a detailed results page, showing you how you did and explaining the answers further. You’ll also receive a copy of those results via email, as well as a certificate of completion should you pass. Your manager will also be notified of your results.

Amendments

With each revised edition of this APPP resource, we indicate which chapters are new or have been updated. This information is available in the table below and at the top of each relevant chapter.

February 2020

ASC APPP Changes

Chapter Detail
Amended chapters
Assessment This chapter has been amended to add a link in the scope box to Evidence for Strengths and Asset-based Outcomes: A Quick Guide for Social Workers (NICE).
End of Life Care This chapter has been amended to add a link to Elderly and End of Life Care for Muslims in the UK, published by Muslim Council of Britain in Section 2, Addressing Inequalities in End of Life Care.
Homelessness This chapter was amended to add a link in the scope box to the Housing LIN (Learning and Improvement Network).
Supervision This chapter has been amended to include a link to Professional Standards and Professional Standards Guidance, published by Social Work England.
Case File Recording and Record Audit This chapter was amended to included a link to Social Work Recording, published by SCIE.
New chapters
Working with Adults with Hidden Disabilities  This chapter outlines different types of hidden disabilities and how staff should be aware of and respond to such issues. This is as a result of three complaints against councils upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Workplace Harassment and Violence to Staff This chapter provides a definition of harassment and violence, which staff are most at risk and management and employee responsibilities.
Modern Slavery This chapter outlines the types of modern slavery, signs that someone may be a victim of modern slavery and what action to take in such circumstances.
Equality, Diversity and Human Rights  This chapter outlines the main principles and points of the Equality Act 2010 and how they relate to working with people with care and support needs.
Also:
Research and Report Briefings  Click on the link to view reports written by Policy Partners Project and associates to reflect current issues or recently released research reports.

TSSP APPP Changes

Chapter Detail
Amended chapters
Pressure Areas and Safeguarding This chapter has been amended to add a link to Helping to Prevent Pressure Ulcers: A Quick Guide for Registered Managers of Care Homes published by NICE.
Best Interests This chapter was amended to include a link to the most recent version of A Brief Guide to carrying out Best Interests Assessment published by 39 Essex Chambers, as linked above.
Equality, Diversity and Human Rights in a Safeguarding Context  This chapter was significantly amended to include additional information about human rights in Appendix 1.

 
Supervision: Social Workers involved in Safeguarding Enquiries This chapter has been updated to include a link to Professional Standards and Professional Standards Guidance. published by Social Work England.
New chapters
Emerging Concerns Protocol This protocol is a summary of the protocol published by the Care Quality Commission, which supports organisations and partners to act early, where there are concerns.
Ill Treatment and Wilful Neglect This chapter outlines the main offences related to individual workers or organisations working with people with care and support needs.
Homelessness This chapter outlines key housing legislation and provides links to Trafford housing service and homelessness strategy.
Workplace Harassment and Violence to Staff This chapter provides a definition of harassment and violence, which staff are most at risk and management and employee responsibilities.
Working with Adults with Hidden Disabilities This chapter outlines different types of hidden disabilities and how staff should be aware of and respond to such issues.
Also:
Research and Report Briefings Click on the link to view reports written by Policy Partners Project and associates to reflect current issues or recently released research reports.

The chapter you wish to amend must be copied into Word and amended using track changes. Click here Making Changes to Chapters for information about how to make the changes in the way we require.

Please contact Neil Humphreys, DoLS Quality Assurance Manager at Trafford Council, using the Contact Form, if you have any queries or suggestions.

Date of Next Revision

This APPP is usually updated every six months. The next revision, therefore, will be available in August 2020.

Search

On the home screen, type in the word or phrase you are looking for in the ‘Search’ facility and press ‘Enter’. It will bring up a list of all the chapters where it appears. Click on the one you want. The word / phrase will remain highlighted in the chapter.

Where chapters have the same titles in the ASC and TSSP contents, the TSSP chapters end with ‘(TSSP)’ to easily identify them when using Search.

If you want to search for specific text within a chapter or a pdf document, you can also press ‘Ctrl’ and ‘f’ together. A box will appear in the top right of your screen. Type in the word / phrase you want to find and press ‘Enter’. The number of times it appears in the chapter will be displayed next to your word. Use the up and down arrows next to it to find all the references.

Practice Hotspots

The Practice Hotspots section is managed by Neil Humphreys, MCA and DoLS Service Manager in Trafford  and contains information about current practice issues for all practitioners working with adults in Trafford.

Social Work Forums

The Social Work Forums is a facility for staff in Trafford Adult Social Care to discuss different practice issues. It is located within the Practice Hotspots section (see above) of this APPP. Only staff employed by Trafford Adult Social Care can participate. When you enter your email address to sign up, you must first agree to the terms of use for the Forums.

Click here to read Using the Social Work Forums.

Register with Us

We recommend you ‘Register with Us‘. This enables us to notify you that your APPP resource has been updated, which is usually every six months. By submitting this information, you will only receive email notifications from us in relation to APPP updates and your information will not be given to any third parties.

Print

This resource has been designed to be used online. It is easier to update web-based procedures rather than a hard-copy manual, and version control is very effectively managed. Reducing or eliminating printing cuts costs, as well as preserving valuable resources.

If you print a chapter, to take to a meeting for example, please note it will have a water mark stating it is valid for 72 hours only and the date it was printed. Whilst APPP resources are usually updated every six months, there may be occasions when it is updated urgently as a result of a Safeguarding Adults Review or inspection recommendation, so it is important to be sure that you are using the most recent copy. That is why we recommend that if you have to print a chapter, you no longer refer to it after that time.

Copyright

The chapter content in this resource can be accessed, downloaded and printed unchanged, on a temporary basis. Any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in part or in whole in any manner or format without the prior written permission of Policy Partners Project Ltd.