Public Health Wales’ National Safeguarding Team have launched a new tool to help Health Boards and Trusts measure the effectiveness of their safeguarding arrangements.
The Safeguarding Maturity Matrix (SMM) is designed to allow services within the NHS in Wales to self-assess their safeguarding arrangements in order to identify their strengths as well as areas for development and improvement.
The SMM is an evolving concept, first introduced as the Safeguarding Quality Outcomes Framework in 2012. A successful pilot held in 2018 saw individual organisations complete their self-assessments before coming together to discuss their results as well as their self-assessment improvement plans.
Dr Aideen Naughton, Service Lead for the National Safeguarding Team, said “The NHS in Wales has an essential role in ensuring that vulnerable adults and children receive the care, support and services they need to promote a healthy, safer and fairer Wales.”
“Measuring the effectiveness of health services in the contribution to safeguarding adults and children is difficult and complex. We hope this tool makes that process more manageable and efficient for safeguarding teams in Health Boards and Trusts across Wales.”
Find out more on the National Safeguarding Team’s work here: National Safeguarding Team (NHS Wales)
