Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SAR)

The Care Act 2014 includes a requirement for Safeguarding Adults Boards to hold Safeguarding Adults Reviews in certain circumstances and for partners to co-operate in the process. Following the implementation of the Act, ‘Safeguarding Adults Review’ replaces the term ‘Serious Case Review’.

Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) provide an opportunity to improve inter-agency working by identifying and disseminating learning from incidents, sharing best practice and ultimately better safeguarding adults at risk of abuse and neglect.

A Safeguarding Adults Review is a multi-agency process to consider whether or not serious harm experienced by an adult with care and support needs could have been prevented, it makes recommendations to minimise the risk of a repeat occurrence. The main aim is to ensure that learning is disseminated across all organisations to improve practice and to deliver better outcomes for people with care and support needs.