This is a new service – your feedback will help us to improve it.

Background on our adult support and protection inspection programme

Information on our current inspection programme.


Phase 1

Phase 1 of our programme of joint inspections has ended. This took place during 2020/23.

The purpose of phase 1 was to provide baseline information across the 26 adult protection partnerships not inspected in 2017/18.

Phase 1 looked at: 

  • analysis of documentary evidence and a position statement submitted by the partnership
  • scrutiny of the recordings of duty to inquire episodes related to adults at risk of harm
  • scrutiny of the social work, police, and health records of adults at risk of harm
  • a survey of staff within the adult protection partnership, and
  • discussions with frontline staff and senior managers about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Phase 2

The Care Inspectorate will lead phase 2 in partnership with:

  • Healthcare Improvement Scotland
  • His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland

Phase 2 will:

  • provide independent scrutiny and assurance of how partnerships ensure that adults at risk of harm are safe, protected and supported
  • provide assurance to Scottish Ministers on how effectively partnerships have implemented the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 
  • identify good practice
  • support improvement across Scotland
  • provide a quality assurance framework for the adult support and protection community. This framework is for use for multi-agency audit, self-evaluation and improvement activity

Our current inspection activity

Phase 2 began on 1st August 2023 and will last two years.

This phase will:

  • blend scrutiny activity with improvement support
  • include close collaboration with adult protection partnerships

Year 1 

We will inspect the protection and risk management arrangements for adults at risk of harm.

This will include re-visiting the six adult protection partnerships inspected in 2017/18.

We will use the inspection methodology developed in phase 1.

The inspections will focus on:

  • key processes
  • leadership

We will also further develop the adult support and protection quality improvement framework with help from stakeholders.

Year 2 

The second year will provide assurance of improvement.

We will look at partnerships inspected during phase 1 where areas of weakness outweighed strengths.

Other partnerships may also be re-visited to provide assurance of improvement. 

We will apply indicators on a voluntary basis with a select group of partnerships. These indicators relate to:

  • early identification of risk
  • early intervention
  • trauma-informed approach

The indicators are designed to support self-evaluation processes. 

Contact us

You can contact the Healthcare Improvement Scotland team at hcis.aspinspections@nhs.scot 

You can find a range of resources related to this work on the Care Inspectorate website