Services for Bexley’s most vulnerable adults are “good, but could always be better”, a council boss has admitted.

Bexley’s Safeguarding Board presented its annual report this week highlighting where it has made a difference in the last year.

Safeguarding boards investigate deaths and incidents relating to vulnerable residents where it’s thought public bodies could learn lessons.

They investigate serious incidents, abuse, modern day slavery, exploitation,  and deaths.

Scrutiny councillors grilled council bosses on how adults were being looked after, picking holes in a new report.

Councillor Wendy Perfect pointed out that there is currently no “clear referral pathway” for the board.

She added: “It also talks about the individual being asked what outcomes they want – it says this year has seen a decline in recorded conversations, this is a “key aspect” in making safeguarding personal.”

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Stuart Rowbotham,  director of adult social care and health said: “The pathway development is a finessing of things that are already in place.

“Our core already works – there isn’t a issue where the seriousness and gravity of the scenario hasn’t led to a review – this is about improving the service that is already there.

“One of the outcomes we want is to understand what the individual wants – there has been a reduction in the number of times those conversations have been recorded.

“Previously we had been doing a “we know best for you” practice. This is now about being clear and we do need to make sure it’s recorded – you’re right to point out this is an area we need to improve on.”

It also emerged partner organisations need more help in reporting serious incidents and that frontline staff fear managers won’t make changes despite the board’s advice.

Mr Rowbotham said: “These are issues of improvement rather than fundamentals. In terms in key themes and in terms of continues improvement there are always areas that are good but could be better and this falls into that category.

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“The problem we have with some reporting is that it is very difficult to give benchmarks against others even though there is a standard format.

“Certainly, in my conversations with both our safeguarding manager and the business manager these are things noted as things we should do something about rather than a “critical failure”.

“If we get feedback from one or two people saying that they don’t believe organisations are going to act on feedback then we need to act.”

There were eight cases notified to the board last year, but it is not known whether these are deaths or serious incidents.