Colchester's Jadee's Nursing Agency placed in special measures

A care agency has been placed in special measures after inspectors found more than 25,000 unread alerts on its electronic system.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the system at Jadee's Nursing Agency in Colchester was used to flag missed visits and any medication concerns.

Inspectors also said managers had not reported abuse allegations to the CQC.

The agency has disputed the findings and said it had appealed against the care watchdog's decision.

In a statement, registered manager Dinah Obeng said: "We are not insisting we had no flaws as a company.

"However, the truth of the inspection was not shared with the general public whatsoever and for that we were treated unfairly.

"Overall, a very small sample size was used to judge our company."

The CQC, which published its report last week, said it inspected the company between 15 November and 7 December last year.

It said inspectors had spoken to seven service users, and the relatives of seven service users, as well as six staff members.

At the time, the company provided personal care to 34 people in their homes in north Essex and rural Suffolk.

The CQC said the electronic system, which was used to flag incidents such as when nurses were late to a visit or missed a visit, had 25,908 unread alerts.

Ms Obeng claimed there were no missed visits and that evidence and explanations were ignored by inspectors.

She added that 31 out of its 34 service users gave positive feedback to inspectors.

The CQC raised two safeguarding alerts during its inspection "about neglect of an individual" but Ms Obeng said the allegation was "unsubstantiated".

Inspectors also found there were missing records, such as risk assessments and care plans.

Inspectors said the management team had not notified the CQC of some abuse allegations, which it was legally required to do.

The service was rated as inadequate, and placed in special measures, meaning it will be revisited within six months.

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