Review into death of Joseph O’Hanlon

Joseph O'Hanlon

A safeguarding review into the death of Joseph O’Hanlon has found that vulnerable adults should be protected in the same way as children who are at risk of abuse.

Mr O’Hanlon, 61, was found dead at his flat in Town Mill Brow, College Bank Way on 2 May 2016. He had a long history of alcohol problems and was well known to statutory and voluntary agencies.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/102710/mans-body-found-in-rochdale-flat

A Home Office postmortem revealed he died as a result of multiple injuries.

Anthony Paul Bennett was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 21 years after he was charged with Mr O’Hanlon’s murder.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/106009/anthony-paul-bennett-sentenced-to-life-imprisonment-for-murder-of-joe-o%E2%80%99hanlon

Rochdale Safeguarding Adults Board found professionals had contacted Mr O’Hanlon 128 times since initial safeguarding concerns were raised in 2014. His ex-partner made the referral as she was concerned he was being financially exploited by ‘drinking associates’.

Bennett was with Mr O’Hanlon when housing officers and a police community support officer (PCSO) visited five days before he was murdered. The visit was a welfare check as Mr O’Hanlon had previously been identified as vulnerable. The PCSO had never seen Bennett before, and a housing officer said Mr O’Hanlon did not appear threatened or scared of Bennett.

The review claimed “had he been a child there would have been a much greater expectation in relation to the information that followed from that visit and what was then recorded on both police and local authority systems.” This would have included Bennett’s details and an assessment of the risks he may have posed to Mr O’Hanlon, if he had been a vulnerable child.

Overall, the review panel felt there was evidence of ‘excellent partnership’ working between the professionals in both the statutory and voluntary agencies involved, and concluded the actions of agencies and professionals were ‘reasonable’ with ‘clear evidence of excellent inter-agency working and good practice’ in some areas.

The panel urged consideration of how adult safeguarding could be better aligned with existing policies to protect vulnerable children.

The review panel made nine recommendations to the Board:

• Work with all agencies to identify how to improve the level of professional enquiry that is made in respect of concerns about vulnerable adults.
• Identify a named professional who can take responsibility for leading actions to reduce abuse.
• Always consider a Care Act assessment when an adult safeguarding referral is made, to gain as much information as possible.
• Ensure key family members are identified and engaged with services.
• Ensure information and contact details for key family members are, subject to their consent, shared with other agencies at strategy meetings unless there is a good reason for not doing so.
• Work with local banks and financial institutions to ensure they recognise the risk of financial exploitation of vulnerable adults and have measures in place for identifying those at risk and steps to protect them.
• Give consideration to developing templates for key processes and meetings.
• Reinforce the need for undertaking and recording Mental Capacity Assessments.
• Undertake work to ensure that professionals recognise and understand the problem of alcohol misuse and how they can work with and support people who misuse alcohol, particularly more guidance around vulnerability ‘thresholds’ 

Jane Booth, Independent Chairwoman of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Adults Board, said: “This is a particularly tragic story and our deepest sympathies and thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends.

"We welcome publication of today’s report, and together with all partner agencies that have responsibility for safeguarding adults with care and support needs in the Rochdale Borough, we accept the Safeguarding Adult Review recommendations in full.

"This murder was a terrible crime and the person responsible is now rightly serving a prison sentence.”