About us

Derbyshire Safeguarding Adults Board (DSAB) is a multi-agency strategic partnership, which ensures and oversees the effectiveness of arrangements made by individual agencies to safeguard adults who have care and support needs or are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, abuse or neglect.

DSAB was originally established under the Department of Health guidance ‘No Secrets (2000)’ and now is on a statutory footing under the Care Act 2014.

The main objective of a SAB is to assure itself that local safeguarding arrangements and partners act effectively to help and protect adults in its area who:

  • have needs for care and support
  • are experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect
  • as a result of their care and support needs are unable to protect themselves from either the risk of or experience of abuse or neglect

Safeguarding adults boards have three statutory functions:

  1. to develop and publish a strategic plan setting out how it will meet its objectives, and how members will contribute to these
  2. to publish an annual report detailing how effective its work has been;
  3. to commission safeguarding adults reviews (SARs) for any cases meeting the criteria for these

DSAB meets quarterly and is an independent board with an independent chair which allows it to provide scrutiny over local adult safeguarding arrangements. Membership is made up of a wide range of statutory, independent and voluntary agencies and organisations.

The joint vision of Derbyshire Safeguarding Adults Board and Derby Safeguarding Adults Board is:

"We will work together to enable people in Derby and Derbyshire to make choices to stay safe and to live a life free from fear, harm and abuse."

‘Making safeguarding personal’ is at the heart of the Derbyshire Safeguarding Adults Board, which means working with adults at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation to ensure they are as safe as they want to be and are helped to make their own decisions.

Safeguarding adults principles

Six key principles underpin all adult safeguarding work and apply to all sectors and settings. They need to be adopted by all organisations as a foundation to achieving good outcomes for adults living in Derbyshire.

  1. empowerment - people being supported and encouraged to make their own decisions and informed consent
  2. prevention - it is better to take action before harm occurs
  3. proportionality - the least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented
  4. protection - support and representation for those in greatest need
  5. partnership - local solutions through services working with their communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse
  6. accountability - accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding