This would be classed as stage 1 escalation:
Professional challenge should follow immediately with both parties
expressing their opinions and rationale for their decisions/views.
This discussion should be documented comprehensively and timely within
the patients records.
This scenario was based on a recent case. The practitioner who made the
initial referral was able to discuss their concerns with the Safeguarding
Officer. The Safeguarding Officer was able to give a clear rationale around
decision making, thresholds and advised on other agencies who were
supporting the patient in the community that mitigated some of those risks
and felt this could be managed via MDT meetings between the adult and
agencies involved.
The practitioner had not originally been aware of any other agencies who
were involved. This discussions enabled them to monitor engagement at
future appointments and they were able to attend MDT meetings. However,
from the original Local Authority response the safety and wellbeing of the
patient had not been clear and it was good practice to explore this further
and identify clear safety plans.