Adult Support and Protection Guidance for General Practitioners and Primary Care Teams

From 15 July to 26 August 2021, the Scottish Government issued a consultation concerning the proposed updating of the guidance for GPs and Primary Care Teams. This guidance is to aid practitioners with implementing the provisions set out in the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, and should be used in conjunction with the Code of Practice (also being revised).

The aim of the consultation was to ensure guidance takes account of policy and practice developments, and current legislation. In order to ensure the revised guidance met the needs of its users, we consulted with targeted stakeholder groups including public bodies named in the Act to review and comment on our changes.

A total of 30 written responses were received and of these, 21 responded on behalf of an organisation. Not all respondents answered every question.

You said that you generally supported the need for revising the General Practice Guidance. The majority felt that the revisions met the objective of each question either completely or mostly. Nearly half of all respondents felt that the guidance mostly or completely made their roles and responsibilities clear. This suggests that the improved guidance, which includes legal obligations provides that information.

Your feedback also suggested improvements on using plain language in the guidance, providing clarity around the target audience and more information around the transitions between adult protection & child protection.

We would like to thank all who participated in the consultation process. The comments and feedback gathered throughout the consultation were extremely helpful in revising the Adult Support and Protection General Practice Guidance.

We have changed the name to make the target audience clearer – it is intended for GPs and those working in General Practices. We have included much wider detail around types of harm individuals may experience. We have added sections on risk and risk assessment. We have expanded the section on information sharing and offered links to case studies, and re-ordered the guidance to ensure it is more user-friendly.

We have also provided a flowchart for reference, showing the journey from a General Practice practitioner meeting with the individual, through to deciding to make an appropriate referral.

The Scottish Government's analysis of responses to the Adult Support and Protection General Practice and Primary Care Guidance: Consultation analysis has been published.

The responses, along with accompanying discussions and engagement events, have informed the finalisation of the revised Adult Support and Protection General Practice Guidance.