Missing People - Vulnerable Adults Consultation 2017

Missing People - Vulnerable adults consultation 2017 Overview Over 100,000 incidents of adults going missing are recorded every year. Many of these adults are vulnerable and at risk of significant harm. However, there is often little or no support made available to them upon their return. While the police endeavour to carry out a check to ensure that these adults returning home are safe and well (i.e. not facing urgent medical care), few adults will have an opportunity to talk about how they are, what happened whilst they were away, how they feel, and why they went missing. Without a thorough assessment of their needs and the challenges they may be facing, adults may not be able to tell anyone about harm they have experienced, or the risks that they still face. It is therefore unsurprising that a third of adults will go missing on more than one occasion. For many others, returning home may feel even harder than being missing.   Missing People’s research on vulnerable adults who go missing Very little is understood about adults who go missing, particularly in relation to mental health. It is estimated that up to 80% of the adults who go missing will have a mental health problem1. Their mental health may be part of the reason that they disappeared in the first place, but even in cases where it is unrelated, their mental health problems can also increase their vulnerability and risk of harm whilst away. Given this limited understanding, Missing People is conducting new research to understand the needs and issues of vulnerable adults with mental health issues who may go missing, and what support might best meet the needs that they have. As such, in August and September this year we hope to carry out consultation with adults who have been missing in the past and the professionals who work with vulnerable adults. This consultation will be crucial in informing the focus and scope of an APPG inquiry that we are carrying out in autumn 2017 on this issue, and will influence the eventual recommendations we make to statutory agencies. Our consultation with professionals will be focussing on gathering evidence on the following research questions: - What currently happens when an adult returns from being missing and presents with mental health issues? - How can mental health issues be identified when someone has been missing and what is the referral/support process when they are? - What happens if an adult already known to services goes missing? And upon their return? - What barriers are there to supporting adults with mental health issues? - What additional support might be helpful when adults return from being missing? - Additional thoughts and recommendations. Approaches for consultation We are keen to work with professionals working in areas that are related to missing issues, for example, mental health care, adult social services, adult safeguarding or GP surgeries. We know that people in these fields will be able to provide us with expert insight that we need to understand the current picture and how provision might be improved. Any information or thoughts shared with our team will be treated confidentially and anonymously. It is possible that we might want to use quotes from some people, however we would always gain the consent of participants first to do so. The aim of this research is to get a national picture of what is happening so we will not be identifying geographical areas or individual approaches or practices. The purpose of the consultation is to work with all agencies that are involved in supporting vulnerable adults who have been, or might go missing. By understanding the current picture and gathering information from all parties, our hope is that we can develop recommendations for spreading best practice and closing any gaps in support. The consultation will be followed by an inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults. This will allow us to gather further evidence from a variety of professionals.   1 Missing Persons: Understanding, Planning, Responding. Gibbs and Woolnough (2007)