Hidden agenda

There are considerable hurdles to be overcome by housing staff when engaging in multi-agency working in general, but in adult safeguarding in particular.

My recent research and training courses have reminded me just how difficult communication with adult social care staff can be. A particular bug bear is their not infrequent refusal to share information or to include housing staff in multi-agency strategy meetings, justified by the view that they are not deemed to be in ‘the circle of trust’.

This is despite the fact the scheme manager, for example, has information that could be contributed about the service user as he or she knows the service user better than anyone on a day-to-day basis. Some readers will remember this plea - for wardens and scheme managers to be included in information sharing, case conferences and assessments - was at the heart of the messages of the sheltered housing charity I helped to set up in the late 1990s, Erosh.

My recent research on housing-related adult serious case reviews revealed at least 11 cases that demonstrated a failure to share information with housing staff, contributing to the death of the service user.

The following quotes are typical of quotes from serious case reviews published over the past six years:

• ‘There was a lack of history relating to A and B that meant that the risks inherent in placing them together in a supported housing setting were not fully appreciated.’
• ‘Support officers were not seen as professional by social care colleagues. Housing is outside the loop.’
• ‘There needs to be improved sharing of information with the housing support agency and a recognition by other agencies of its role as a professional partner in the support of its tenants.’

Senior staff need to be prepared to intervene on behalf of junior staff in the event of failures in sharing information, exclusion from strategy meetings, delays in safeguarding investigations, unclear monitoring arrangements and disagreements about definitions of vulnerability.

Additionally, I encourage housing providers to appoint specialist safeguarding leaders to act as advisors on complex cases, monitor referrals and assist managers with multi-agency working difficulties. They can also be responsible for the development and review of safeguarding policies, procedures and training for all levels of staff and board members. As it is likely that housing organisations will increasingly be asked by adult social care to conduct their own internal investigations into adult abuse, housing provider safeguarding specialists could take the lead with this activity.

Imogen Parry is a safeguarding adults trainer and former chair and director of policy for Erosh