{"id":1142,"date":"2014-02-11T20:15:43","date_gmt":"2014-02-11T20:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2014-02-11T20:15:43","modified_gmt":"2014-02-11T20:15:43","slug":"new-child-protection-service-launches-in-tower-hamlets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/new-child-protection-service-launches-in-tower-hamlets\/","title":{"rendered":"New child protection service launches in Tower Hamlets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tower\"<\/a>The Tower Hamlets Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) was formally launched on Monday (February 3) at the Town Hall.
\nThis significant development will bring local agencies involved in child protection together into a single team operating under one roof, so they can share intelligence and work in partnership to inform better decision making on responding to risk and the needs of vulnerable children and families.
\nIt co-locates the Metropolitan Police with Tower Hamlets Council\u2019s social workers, Youth Offending Team and Family Intervention Project as well as officers from health, education and housing along with staff from probation, mental health services and the Bart\u2019s NHS Trust.
\nTower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: \u201cThe safety of children is one of our top priorities.
\n\u201cCreating this new and improved hub is a great stride forward in making sure all the relevant public agencies are working together as closely as possible for the good of our community.\u201d
\nThe key objectives of MASH are to:
\nIdentify risks to children and adults at the earliest possibility
\nEnsure better information sharing
\nMake decisions more quickly and efficiently
\nIdentify and reduce harm, crime and anti-social behaviour
\nThe MASH concept was developed in Devon and is considered as a model of good practice. It is a priority for the Metropolitan Police to roll out this initiative across London.
\nTower Hamlets has already had in place a multi-agency group handling initial child protection and safeguarding enquiries for children and families \u2013 the Integrated Pathways and Support Team (IPST), which has also been cited as a model of good practice and was established in 2009.
\nThe Tower Hamlets MASH will build on the success and the foundations of the IPST and take the service forward to the next level.
\nThe service has been strengthened with the co-location of the police, with probation joining the team and with other partners to follow. This allows for more effective multi-disciplinary working leading to better outcomes for children and families in Tower Hamlets.
\nThe multi-agency team will be based at the Town Hall.
\nCllr Oliur Rahman, Tower Hamlets Council\u2019s cabinet member for children, schools and families, said: \u201cThe agencies in Tower Hamlets have a strong record in child protection and this MASH model will make it even stronger.
\n\u201cThis new model will be good for the families we work with and, as a result, good for the wider community.\u201d
\nPolice borough commander Chief Superintendent Dave Stringer said: \u201cMASH allows the police to respond quicker, with better information to concerns about young people who are at risk, which is one of the most important things the police service does.
\n\u201cWe have got a really good tradition of partnership working already and this will allow us to go from strength to strength.\u201d
\nJane Milligan, chief officer of the NHS Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: \u201cThe CCG recognises the importance of information sharing to support the identification of and response to children in Tower Hamlets who are vulnerable.
\n\u201cEnsuring health teams are a key partner within the MASH arrangement is vital to its success as is ensuring health information can be shared in a timely way. Through its commissioning the CCG will ensure this health representation within the MASH remains a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

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