Welcome to the Salford Adult Social Care Information Hub.

This page provides a summary of how to use the Information Hub and its main features.

Contents

Finding Your Way Around the Information Hub

This Information Hub is divided into different sections. On the home page there are eight tiles / buttons:

  • Adult Social Care Policies and Procedures – which contains policies, procedures and practice guidance for Adult Social Care;
  • Contact us and useful information – an overview of how Adult Social Care supports adults and carers, including contact information. Also includes links to other useful information.
  • Safeguarding – information on how to report a safeguarding concern about an adult or child living in Salford;
  • Carers – information about services and support for carers in Salford;
  • Finances – information on paying for care and support and the commissioning of services;
  • Assistive technology and equipment – information about technology enabled care and equipment;
  • ASC Learning and Development – staff only area which contains staff resources from the ASC Learning and Development Team.
  • Professionals Area – area for adult social care staff only which contains local Standard Operating Procedures, information on services and teams, and Liquid Logic guides.

When you are in the ASC Policies section, there are a number of tabs on the left side of the screen when viewed on larger screens or by clicking on the lined box in the top right corner on smaller screens (such as phones or tablets):

  • Using this Information Hub is this page;
  • ‘Contents’ contains adult social care policies;
  • ‘Resources’ provides a range of relevant supporting information for staff;
  • ‘Contact’ contains local contact details for teams, services and partner organisations. It also has a contact form which can be used to share queries, comments or other feedback about the Information Hub.

Accessibility Options

The Information Hub has a number of different options to aid online reading. Using the ‘Accessibility’ drop-down menu on the left-side of the screen, you can change to green, blue or pink backgrounds, yellow text on a black background or you can return to the default setting.

You can also resize this website by pressing CTRL and + together to make it larger, you can keep pressing this to increase the zoom level. Pressing CTRL and – together makes the site smaller. This is a feature built into your web browser, known as in-browser zooming, and so depending on the browser you’re using the controls may be different.

In addition, the Information Hub is designed to be accessible for users of text only and screen reader software programs which allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display. Our content is consistently structured, including headings, which makes using the software on this site easier. Also, when viewed through screen reader software, every page has a ‘Skip to main content’ link which allows software users to go straight to the main content of that page instead of receiving the full navigation options every time. Please share this information with blind or visually impaired colleagues.

To view the content in a language other than English, use the ‘select language’ drop-down menu on the left-side of the screen and select the language you require. Translations on the Information Hub are provided using Google Translate. Google Translate is a free translation service that provides instant translations between different languages.

However, Google Translate may not provide an exact translation from English to the required language. Also, it cannot translate all types of documents.

Policy Partners Project Ltd and Northern Care Alliance cannot therefore guarantee the accuracy of the translation. However, this service may be useful when working with people who do not have English as their first language, but please bear these points in mind when using translated information.

Using the Information Hub on Smartphones and Tablets

The Information Hub works well on smartphones and tablets by typing in the weblink in the internet address bar. When used on a smartphone, the Information Hub will immediately convert into a mobile friendly version, where the tabs sit behind the Menu button.

Adding Shortcuts to the Information Hub

You can easily access the Information Hub by installing a shortcut on your device, which will directly open up your internet browser to the Information Hub.

  • on desktop / laptops: go to the homepage of the Information Hub website in your internet browser, then bookmark it using your browser’s bookmark feature. Open your browser’s list of bookmarked websites and drag the Information Hub bookmark onto the desktop of your device.
  • on smartphones / tablets : go to the homepage of the Information Hub website in your internet browser, and do the following:
    • On Android devices – click the three dots, and select ‘add to home screen‘.
    • On iOS / Apple – click the share icon Apple share icon, scroll down the page and select ‘add to home screen‘

Resources

The Resources section contains a number of links and documents to supplement the information in chapters. It includes

CQC Quality Statements

At the top of relevant chapters, we have added Quality Statements from the CQC Assessment Framework for local authorities.

The local authority commitments are included to help staff understand the service the CQC expects a ‘good’ local authority to provide. Written as ‘we statements’ they set out the commitments that local authorities should live up to in order to deliver truly person-centred care and support.

Statements about what people expect are taken from Making it Real which was developed with adults who have lived experience of adult social care, to capture what good, person-centred care looks like to them. These statements are included to help staff understand what a good experience of care looks and feels like from the perspective of an adult who is in contact with the local authority.

ePractice

Key policies in the Information Hub have epractice questions at the end, which help you test your understanding of the subject and provide evidence for your continuing professional development. Click here to find the full list of ePractice policies.

You will be asked to provide your name and email address, so you results can be sent to you. We don’t store any of this information.

The questions are straightforward to answer. Some will only allow for a single choice of answer, for example true or false, and others have checkboxes which allow you to tick as many as you feel apply.

Once you reach the end just click on the blue’ Submit’ button to send in your answers. All questions must be answered before you can do this. You will automatically be taken to a detailed results page, showing you how you did and explaining the answers further. You’ll also receive a copy of those results via email, as well as a certificate of completion should you pass.

Quick Reads and Audio Summaries

Some policies have summaries (Quick Reads) and Audios which provide key information for staff who do not need to know the full detail of the policy. They can be found at the top of the relevant policy. A full list can be found in Quick Reads and Audios, in Resources.

Reading Confirmation

This form enables Adult Social Care staff to confirm they have read policies. This is useful for new starters as part of their induction, and for supervision, CPD and team discussions for example.

Chapter Feedback

You can provide feedback on whether you found this site useful by using the ‘was this helpful’ tool at the bottom of each page.  If you found the content useful, select the ‘yes / thumbs up’ image, or if it was not helpful, you can select ‘no / thumbs down’. You will be given the option to provide additional feedback / comment. Any feedback you provide is anonymous.

Amendments

April 2025

Chapter / Section Details
Mental Capacity A new Section 3.2 Who should carry out a mental capacity assessment has been added, to provide information on which practitioners can carry out mental capacity assessments.
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Section 4, Restrictions and Restraint has been updated to reference the LGA and ADASS publication Promoting less restrictive practice: reducing restrictions tool for practitioners and reinforces the importance of ensuring that least restrictive practice principles are being followed. A new Section 5.3 contains information on the ADASS DoLS Priority Tool, which can be used by local authorities to help screen requests to authorise a deprivation of liberty.
Assessing and Managing Risk This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout. Information on positive risk taking and strengths-based approaches have been added.
Executive Function This new guidance provides an overview of executive function and how it can impact mental capacity assessments. It also includes practice points to help support adults who have impaired executive function.
Working with Adults with Learning Disabilities This new chapter contains best practice for working with adults with learning disabilities, including how to empower people so they can recognise and manage any risks they may face and know what to do if they have concerns or are frightened about someone else.

March 2025

Chapter / Section Details
Sexual Health and Relationships The following documents have been added:

Let’s Talk about Sexual Health – Salford Learning Disability Team Sexual Health Guidance;

Relationships, Sex and Sexual Health – A Guide for People with Learning Disabilities, their Families and Carers; and

Relationships, Sex and Sexual Health – A Companion Guide for Families and Carers.

The Guidance and workbooks aim to promote inclusive and equitable sexual health care for people with learning disabilities. Their use promotes equitable and inclusive care for everyone, and can help facilitate meaningful discussions around sexual health.
Professionals Area; Standard Operating Procedures and Practice Guidance (staff only, log in required) New information has been added, including:

  • Prevent resources for responding to concerns of radicalisation and extremism. See Prevent.
  • Case Closure and Allocation in Out of Area Placements on Salford Learning Disabilities Team Local Standard Operating Procedure;
  • Recording a Key Safe Code;
  • Research Governance Policy.
Professionals Area; Standard Operating Procedures and Practice Guidance (staff only, log in required) The Adult Social Care Supervision Policy and associated template documents have been added.
Professionals Area; Standard Operating Procedures and Practice Guidance (staff only, log in required) the Quality Assurance Checklist March 2025 (Case File Audit Tool) has been added.

January 2025

Chapter / Section Details
Adult Social Care Accessible Information

and Interpreting, Signing and Communication Needs

 A link to a guide on How to Make Accessible Information and Easy Reads has been added into these chapters.
Professionals Area; Standard Operating Procedures and Practice Guidance (staff only, log in required) The following Standard Operating Procedures have been added:

Quality Assurance Process for Support Requests; and

Referrals from Prisons.
ASC Learning and Development; Social Work Development (staff only, log in required) The ASYE section has been updated to include all documents and templates for completion during the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment.

December 2024

Chapter / Section Details
Salford Adult Social Care Vision Contains our vision for providing for adult social care, including how we will do it, how it will make a difference and how we know that it is working.

October 2024

Chapter / Section Details
Managing Provider Failure and other Service Interruptions Three documents have been added:

Provider Sustainability Process: explains the process by which Providers should make commissioners aware of sustainability concerns and apply for sustainability funding.

Provider Failure Procedure: sets out the roles and responsibilities of Salford Care Organisation, Salford City Council and Providers of commissioned care services operating in the area of Salford City Council, in the event of any provider failure.

Salford Care Organisation Adult Social Care Market Quality Assurance & Improvement 2024 to 2028: sets out Salford’s approach to assuring the quality of commissioned care and support services.
ASC Learning and Development; Good Practice Library Three new summaries, shared by colleagues in Salford, to provide examples of good practice when working with adults, carers and families have been added.
Professionals Area; Liquid Logic Guidance on how to access the Greater Manchester Shared Care Record (GMSCR) from LAS has been added. See How to Guides. Access to GMSCR will enable us to view data held by other health and social care agencies, as well as sharing data on the people who are known to us.   It should help us to provide a better service to Salford residents and to spend less time in contact with other agencies trying to obtain information.
Professionals Area; Liquid Logic Guidance on how to Record a Death on LAS has been added.

May 2024

Chapter / Section Details
Salford Adult Social Care: Statement of Standards A link to the Salford Adult Social Care Statement of Standards has been added.
Professionals Area, Standard Operating Procedures The following Standard Operating Procedures have been added:

  • Prioritising and risk managing allocations for Care Act assessments, reassessments, and reviews has been added.
  • Learning Disability. Salford Dynamic Risk Register.

April 2024

Chapter / Section Details
Working with Autistic Adults  and Useful Information A link to an easy read on Autism produced by the Salford Learning Disability Team in conduction with  ‘Power In Our Hands Group’ (Aspire), ‘Life Skills Group’ (Aspire), Salford Spectrum Group, and the ‘People We Support Group’ (Bolton Cares) has been added.
Professionals Area, Standard Operating Procedures The NCA Advocacy Guidelines have been added. The guidelines have been written to support Adult Health and Social Care practitioners to understand and apply the duty set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 & Care Act 2014 regarding the provision of independent advocacy.

Date of Next Revision

The Information Hub is regularly updated. Email notifications will be sent out to staff who have registered each time it is updated.

Search

Using the search facility

To search for information, type in the word or phrase you are looking for in the ‘Search’ facility and press ‘Enter’. It will bring up a list of all the chapters where it appears.  The word / phrase you searched for will be highlighted in the chapter. To make sure the search results more accurately reflect what you are looking for, you can add inverted commas (also known as speech marks) to the word or term you are looking for, for example “safeguarding” or “adult safeguarding”.

Using ‘ctrl’ and f

If you want to search for specific text within a chapter or a pdf document, you can also press ‘Ctrl’ and ‘f’ together. A box will appear in the top right of your screen. Type in the word / phrase you want to find and press ‘Enter’. The number of times it appears in the chapter will be displayed next to your word. Use the up and down arrows next to it to find all the references.

Print

The Information Hub has been designed to be used online. If you print a chapter, for example to take to a meeting, please note it is valid for 72 hours only from the date it was printed. There may be occasions when it is updated urgently as a result of a Safeguarding Adults Review or inspection recommendation, so it is important to be sure that you are using the most recent copy. This is why we recommend that if you have to print a chapter, you no longer refer to it after that time.

Please remember that the Information Hub can be also accessed on smartphones and tablets (see Using the Information Hub on  Smartphones and Tablets).

Copyright

The chapter content in the Information Hub can be accessed, downloaded and printed unchanged, on a temporary basis. Any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in part or in whole in any manner or format without the prior written permission of Policy Partners Project Ltd.

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