Walking the wall (again, but this time all in one go)

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes.

I am just back from a walking holiday, 9 days of walking … from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend.

I’m sure these two points on the map will be recognised by many as the two end points of Hadrian’s Wall.

I would very much recommend longer distance walking, which is not something I have done before. There is something quite relaxing about the repetitive nature of it: a good breakfast, make sandwiches, walk, talk, eat sandwiches, sleep, repeat.

I walked sections of Hadrian’s Wall a couple of years ago and you may recall my October 2022 blog post about that visit, see Hadrian’s wall and building blocks for safeguarding …

On this trip I found that walking day after day asked me to be persistent, determined (to keep going when it got hot or wet - I did get a sunburnt neck!), and the importance of keeping the end goal in focus.

In the October 2022 blog I talked about the ingenuity of the engineers who built the wall, the skill of the construction and the strength of its foundations, which have enabled Hadrian’s Wall to remain standing almost 2,000 years later. This prompted me to think about the foundations of Norfolk’s adult safeguarding practice. What are the ‘blocks’ on which we want to build a safer Norfolk?

It feels timely and useful to come back to these questions again.

Leading up to this holiday I was working with the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board’s (NSAB) Business Group to look at NSAB’s current 16 priorities and to agree which were the most important. Which would have the biggest impact? Because however much we would like too, such a spread of work cannot be done all at once. In the 2+ years since October 2022, the board has published a new strategic plan and with it a new group of priorities.

The foundation blocks for safeguarding adults practice - highlighted in October 2022 - are still good for 2024:

• a focus on prevention (it is always better to stop abuse and harm before it happens)
• professional curiosity (asking the question)
• engagement with people in your network (talk about safeguarding with people you are linked to (work, friends, family)
• learning and shaping future practice (how can we do better?)

During my recent trip, I had some further thoughts, including how can we make use of the other ‘skills’ a long walking trip requires to build our safeguarding network?

For example:

• perseverance
• keeping the end goal in sight (and not wandering off the moment a new issue comes along) - see NSAB's strategic plan 
• keeping alert to what is happening around us
• mindful to have the right kit for the task in hand (you don’t need an ice axe for Hadrian’s Wall, but you do need to carry a basic first aid kit). In adult safeguarding proportionality is about thinking about the least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented: that we work in a person’s interest and only get involved as much as is necessary.
• appreciating that completing that a multi-day walking trail is very much a group effort, which reminded of the principle of partnerships in safeguarding

Is there a particular ‘building block’ we should be developing to build a safer Norfolk? Please get in touch.

Thank you.

Walter Lloyd-Smith
NSAB Board Manager

Email: walter.lloyd-smith@norfolk.gov.uk

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I would like to dedicate this blog to two key colleagues who have played a significant part in building our Norfolk safeguarding adults network. Both these colleagues have been really important to what has been achieved.

Andy Coller, Detective Superintendent with the Safeguarding and Investigations Command, who is retiring after 30 years’ service with Norfolk Police. Many of you will know and have worked alongside Andy and I will not need to say how much he has helped to influence and develop our partnership working, not just for adult safeguarding but for children too. Andy, you have played a really significant role at board and as an active participant in NSAB’s subgroups. It has been my privilege to have co-chaired the Business Group with you in the last few years. Thank you for keeping me focused on the set goals and not ‘wandering off to look at bright shiny windmills’! Enjoy your retirement.

And Sara Shorten, Deputy Designated Lead Nurse for Adult Safeguarding, Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (N+WICB), who will be leaving to start a new job. Congratulations on your promotion to the role of Senior Quality Nurse East Locality. Thank you Sara for all your support, dedication, and hard work, and I hope our paths will cross again at some point soon.