Building better social care in Wales
Abstract Adult Practice Reviews (APRs) provide a vital opportunity to learn from cases where adults at risk have experienced significant harm or death, identifying systemic strengths and weaknesses within safeguarding practice. Commissioned by the National Independent Safeguarding Board (NISB) Wales, this 2025 thematic review analysed 25 APRs covering incidents from 2016–2022, with the aim of… Read More
Abstract Self-neglect presents distinctive challenges and can have high stakes for individuals’ self-care, health and wellbeing. It often requires extensive collaboration, which can involve some, or all, of: Social Care, Health, Fire & Rescue, Housing, Environmental Protection, the police and voluntary sector organisations, among others. Several Safeguarding Adults Reviews attest to the logistical, interprofessional and… Read More
Abstract Research has shown that dementia makes adults more susceptible to abuse and neglect. The Care Act 2014 provides local authorities and other agencies in England with duties to safeguard adults from such abuse with partnership being a key principle. However, little is known about social care and health professionals’ views and practices on partnership… Read More
Abstract Discriminatory abuse refers to forms of harassment that target a person’s protected characteristics, such as age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. It is an under-reported category of abuse and little is known about how practitioners approach this work. This presentation will… Read More
Abstract This webinar will present the findings from a three year project exploring the needs and outcomes of autistic children in care in Wales. This study was undertaken in three parts, involving a variety of methods. Part one involved analysis of linked data using the SAIL Databank to understand more about the numbers of care… Read More
Doing Adult Safeguarding with Service Users and Carers Presented by: Dr Jeremy Dixon, University of Bath *A discount code will be provided to attendees for those who wish to purchase Jeremy’s book, Adult Safeguarding Observed* This presentation describes social workers’ accounts of doing adult safeguarding work with service users, family carers and paid carers. It… Read More
Championing a research culture within Adult Social Care – How are we making robust decisions without calling upon the research base? Research enriched practice has always been a gold standard within social care. However, making it a natural part of practice within busy frontline local authority teams dealing with complex and fluid situations has always… Read More
Find out more about our upcoming events and webinars, and how you can sign up, on this page. For a list of past events, visit our archive.
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Self-neglect presents distinctive challenges and can have high stakes for individuals’ self-care, health and wellbeing. It often requires extensive collaboration, which can involve some, or all, of: Social Care, Health, Fire & Rescue, Housing, Environmental Protection, the police and voluntary sector organisations, among others. Several Safeguarding Adults Reviews attest to the logistical, interprofessional and legal challenges practitioners face in navigating this. This webinar draws on the findings of an interview study with 69 practitioners / managers, 16 people with lived experience of self-neglect, and 2 family carers. Their experiences showed the potential for inter-agency working to achieve positive change, but also the complex dynamics impeding it. Where there were good mutual understanding, shared interprofessional spaces, and practically-oriented procedures, collaborative working strengthened self-neglect support; at other times, negotiating collaboration was likened to ‘jumping hurdles’ or putting one’s ‘head above the parapet.’ Keeping a collective focus on the person experiencing self-neglect becomes harder for practitioners to do when their attention is absorbed by inter-agency processes and barriers. This discussion will explore the need for – and approaches that show promise in helping – professional curiosity in safeguarding and self-neglect to be complemented by ‘interprofessional curiosity.’
Online, Teams
12:00
- 23/02/2026
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Adult Practice Reviews (APRs) provide a vital opportunity to learn from cases where adults at risk have experienced significant harm or death, identifying systemic strengths and weaknesses within safeguarding practice. Commissioned by the National Independent Safeguarding Board (NISB) Wales, this 2025 thematic review analysed 25 APRs covering incidents from 2016–2022, with the aim of informing the new Single Unified Safeguarding Review (SUSR) process introduced in October 2024. The thematic review identified recurring challenges across Wales, including fragmented multi-agency coordination, limited use of advocacy, inconsistent consideration of mental capacity, and variable documentation of adults’ lived experiences and wishes. Examples of good practice were evident, such as the consistent use of advocacy services, person-centred “This is Me” documentation and innovative local inter-agency collaboration mechanisms. This presentation will share findings from the thematic review, explore the implications for policy and practice in Wales and outline how learning from APRs must shape the implementation of the SUSR process. It offers a call to action for embedding systemic, person-centred and accountable approaches to adult safeguarding.
Online, Teams
13:00
- 25/02/2026
Safeguarding adults is a process that protects an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It involves people and organisations working together to prevent and stop the abuse and neglect of people with care and support…
ExChange Wales brings leading researchers together with practitioners and service users to share expertise, research evidence and care experiences.
Through our conferences, workshops, lectures and seminars, ExChange provides free, high-quality training to support the ongoing development of social care professionals across Wales. Attracting leading national speakers, together we learn and advise on research, impacting both policy and practice. Our events and resources enrich skills while foregrounding the lived experience of care-experienced people.
We have a range of ways that you can work with ExChange. If you wish to host an ExChange workshop, webinar, podcast or blog, simply contact us.
Our third webinar in our conference series – On the Journey: Navigating Mental Health “Supporting people with mental health problems to build social networks and reduce loneliness: lessons for practice and research from intervention trials” Abstract People with mental health problems are more likely to have smaller networks and experience loneliness and social isolation than… Read More
Our fourth webinar in our conference series – On the Journey: Navigating Mental Health Abstract The ability to form strong relationships is viewed as central to mental health recovery. Few studies have explored the experiences of people with mental health problems in forming or maintaining romantic relationships. This study addressed this gap through conducting focus… Read More
