Hearings and decisions
Upcoming hearings and decisions made by our adjudicators
Amanda Jane Seaward
Registration number
SW20948
Allegations
The allegation arising out of the regulatory concerns referred by the Case Examiners on 12 September 2024 is:
Whilst registered as a social worker, and whilst employed by North Northamptonshire County Council, in the period between January 2021 to 6 November 2022:
1. With respect to Service User A, you:-
a. Upon allocation on 21 July 2021,
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempt contact with Service User A;
ii. Failed to undertake a visit to Service User A in a timely manner;
b. Failed to respond to telephone calls from Service User A’s stepson on 23 and/or 26 and/or 29 July 2021, in a timely manner;
c. Failed to action and/or progress a safeguarding referral in respect of Service User A received on 2 August 2021 from East Midlands Ambulance Service.
2. With respect to Service User B, you:-
a. Following a number of referrals received from 7 – 19 July 2021, and upon allocation on 21 July 2021,
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempt contact with Service User B and/or the referrers;
ii. Failed to undertake a visit to Service User B in a timely manner;
b. Further to 2 (a) above, failed to respond in a timely way to a phone call from the referrer on 25 August 2021;
c. Failed to adequately action and/or progress the safeguarding referrals received in respect of Service User B.
3. With respect to Service User C, you:-
a. Following allocation on or around 28 June 2021,
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempt contact with Service User C;
ii. Failed to undertake a visit to Service User C in a timely manner;
b. Further to 3 (a) above, between 15 July 2021 and 25 August 2021, failed to follow up, and/or to record any follow up, to seek to establish contact with Service User C, in order to enable her care package to be reassessed.
4. With respect to Service User D, you:-
a. Following allocation on 23 June 2021,
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempted contact with Service User D;
ii. Failed to undertake a visit to Service User D in a timely manner;
b. Following 15 July 2021 having called Service User D an ambulance at his request during a telephone call with you, did not follow up with Service User D and/or the hospital.
5. With respect to Service User E, you:-
a. Following allocation on 14 June 2021:-
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempt contact with Service User E;
ii. Failed to undertake a visit to Service User E in a timely manner;
b. As a result of 5(a) above, failed to take appropriate action in relation to safeguarding concerns in a timely manner or at all.
6. With respect to Service User F, you:-
a. Following allocation on 9 June 2021,
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempt contact with Service User F;
ii. Failed to undertake a visit to Service User F in a timely manner;
b. Between 15 July 2021 and 6 August 2021, failed to adequately consider and assess Service User F’s needs.
7. With respect to Service User G, you:-
a. Failed to attend and/or record attendance at arranged visits to Service User G on 22 June 2021 and/or 20 July 2021;
b. Failed to make and/or record any contact with Service User G and/or their family between 11 August 2021 and 7 September 2021;
c. Following voicemail messages from Service User G’s family on 7 and/or 9 September 2021, did not respond in a timely manner or at all;
d. As a result of any or all of 7 (a) – 7 (c), failed to adequately consider and assess Service User G’s needs;
e. Failed to complete a Care Act Assessment.
8. With respect to Service User H, you:-
a. Following referrals received on 20 and 21 July 2021, failed to make timely contact/attempt contact with the referrer and/or Service User H;
b. As a result of 8(a) above, failed to adequately consider and assess Service User H’s needs and/or caused a delay to Service User H receiving community support;
c. From around 18 August 2021 when Service User H was ready to be discharged form hospital, failed to adequately follow up and/or action necessary next steps, including:-
i. Advising on referring for a telephone lifeline;
ii. Completing an assessment for a community care package;
d. Failed to adequately action and/or progress the safeguarding referrals received in respect of Service User H.
9. With respect to Service User I, you:-
a. Following allocation on 19 January 2021,
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempted contact with Service User I and or/the referrer;
ii. Failed to undertake a visit to Service User I in a timely manner;
b. Following carrying out an assessment of Service User I on 18 February 2021, failed to
i. Make contact with Service User I’s family in a timely way;
ii. Complete the assessment;
iii. Respond to an email from one of Service User I’s sons complaining about lack of contact and involvement;
c. Following a safeguarding concern being raised on 16 March 2021, did not take any, or any adequate action, in a timely way, to gather information and/or assess risk and/or commence a Care Act Assessment;
d. Following concerns being raised by the hospital on 29 April 2021, did not take any action or any adequate action;
e. Following a further safeguarding concern being raised on 7 May 2021, did not take any action or any adequate action;
f. Failed to respond to the hospital’s requests for updates on 3 and/or 8 June 2021 in a timely way, or at all;
g. Between 23 June 2021 and 9 July 2021 failed to follow up or review the case;
h. Failed to attend, or failed to record attendance at, a visit to Service User I on 12 July 2021.
10. With respect to Service User J, you:-
a. Between around 11 May 2022 and 13 November 2022 did not make and/or record adequate progress on the case;
b. On or around 17 October 2022, took possession of Service User J’s mobile phone;
c. On or around 17 October 2022, made no record of having taken possession of Service User J’s mobile phone or the reasons for having done so;
d. Following information received from Service User J’s father on 17 October 2022, did not follow up with other relevant parties/bodies (Service User J’s college and the police), in a timely way;
e. As a result of any or all of 10 (a) – (d) above, failed to take appropriate action in relation to safeguarding concerns.
11. With respect to Service User K, you:-
a. Following a failed visit to Service User K on 4 November 2022 did not adequately follow up and/or liaise with other relevant parties;
b. Failed to adequately complete the safeguarding concern that had been raised.
12. With respect to Service User L, you:-
a. Following a telephone call from Service User L’s son on 10 June 2022, failed to communicate with him and/or other service providers in a timely way;
b. Failed to maintain adequate communications with Service User L’s family between 8 and 29 July 2022 and/or update the records to record any communications that there had been in that time period;
c. Between 24 August and 3 November 2022, failed to adequately progress the actions required including:-
i. Addressing/raising the Safeguarding and Notification of Concern that had been raised;
ii. Following up with the care provider;
iii. Discussions with Service User L’s son;
iv. Discussion with Service User L.
d. Failed to adequately record contact with Service User L’s son.
13. With respect to Service User M, you:-
a. Between around 27 April 2022 and 9 October 2022, failed to adequately progress the case in a timely way, and/or record actions taken to progress the case in a timely way including in respect of:-
i. Carrying out a visit to Service User M on 4 May 2022;
ii. Scheduling multi-disciplinary team meetings;
iii. From around 23 June 2022, progressing agreed actions to follow up with the GP and/or environmental health and/or the RSPCA and/or the police;
iv. From around 23 June 2022, addressing the safeguarding concern that had been raised.
14. With respect to Service User N, you:-
a. Following allocation to Service User N on 4 May 2022,
i. Failed to make timely contact/attempted contact with Service User N;
ii. Failed to arrange and/or undertake a visit to Service User N in a timely manner.
b. Following visiting Service User N on 30 May 2022, you failed to adequately progress the matter in a timely way and/or adequately complete the records and required documentation including in respect of:-
i. Initial contact/conversation 1 paperwork;
ii. Follow up with Service User N;
iii. Follow up with the housing application.
15. With respect to Service User O, you:-
a. Between 30 May and November 2022, you did not adequately progress the matter, including in respect of:
i. Conversation 1 and 2;
ii. Transfer to the ‘Inclusion Team’ (P2P);
iii. Speaking to Service User O and/or recording having spoken to Service User O;
iv. Adult Risk Management meetings and/or paperwork.
16. Your conduct at any or all of paragraphs 1 to 15 failed to safeguard the service users set out therein.
The matters described at paragraphs 1 - 16 above amount to lack of competence/capability
Your fitness to practise as a social worker is impaired by reason of your lack of competence/capability.