The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Action 4 Housing Limited - Head Office

PO Box 1034, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 9WU 0845 899 4440

Provided and run by:
Action 4 Housing Limited

All Inspections

2, 8, 9 November 2011

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We were contacted by some people who use the service prior to our inspection of Action 4 Housing. They told us about their concerns with staff and how they treat them. They were concerned that action had not been taken when they had made complaints to the management and that staff were not turning up for work because they had not been paid. One person told us that they had to look after the three other people they share a house with for an entire shift until the next shift started and a member of staff came in.

We were also contacted by some staff who expressed concerns about not being paid and about people being left without any staff to support them. Staff also told us about allegations of physical and psychological abuse towards people who use the service.

When we started our unannounced inspection the registered manager was away on leave, so we made an appointment to go back the following week once she had returned to work. On the morning of our planned visit to the office we were contacted by the new owners of Action 4 Housing to tell us they had taken over the company. During this visit we found some serious concerns with the running and management of Action 4 Housing which we shared with the new owners. This included not reporting allegations of abuse to us, other agencies and the police. Under the previous ownership, the company had carried out investigations of allegations of abuse but they were not carried out as they should have been. This had placed people who use the service at risk. Where people lacked capacity their relatives or advocates were not informed of the allegations of abuse. Other concerns are mentioned in the outcomes areas in this report.

We had planned to visit a number of people at their homes but we cancelled this because immediate actions were being taken by the new owners of the company. These actions included suspending staff and bringing in new staff to support people. We felt that if we visited people at this time this would add to any distress they might feel in response to the staff changes. This also meant that we could not speak with members of staff who support people.

All the serious concerns and issues highlighted in this report took place under the previous owners of Action 4 Housing .The new owners of the company have put safeguards in place to protect people and they are working closely with us, and other agencies, to address the serious concerns we found.

Where we have concerns we have a range of enforcement powers we can use to protect the safety and welfare of people who use this service. Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes. We will publish a further report on any action we have taken.

15 June 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

The small number of people that we spoke to were happy with the service they were receiving. We received comments that included;

"I have care plans and I've been involved in creating them", "I have a key worker but I'm unsure who they are"," The home is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the staff are nice. I would recommend Action 4 Housing to others. Staff have been very supportive, they go up town shopping with me, help me cook my own meals and help me with budgeting/planning".

Another person said, "I'm supported by a number of staff but this is good and like it", "I am able to choose the staff that work with me", "Staff help me with budgeting and being independent", "There is a complaints procedure, I have used it and was happy with the outcome", "Care plans are written at the head office then brought to the house for me to read, I am able to comment on the care plans and change them if I wish too".

Speaking with parents/relatives they stated;

It is like home from home', 'very friendly', 'Good communication', 'very open', 'I can talk to staff', 'They respect our views', 'I have met with the manager in the past', 'My relative is quite settled here'.

One relative said that is anything happened to them they felt confident that the needs of their relative would be met by agency and they felt "this has lifted a great weight from their shoulders".

We spoke with staff in each of the locations we visited, this was a only a very small sample of the staff employed. We passed our contact details to the agency's director of care to pass on to other staff employed by Action 4 Housing, unfortunately we were not contacted by any other staff.

The staff we spoke to were able to demonstrate good knowledge of the needs of the people they were caring for. However some staff had not received training in some people's specific needs, for example personality disorders which could mean that peoples needs are not always being met or crisis identified before they escalate.