The Care Quality Commission

Archived: United Response - Colchester DCA

United Response Area Office, Unit 10 Hill View buisness Park, Old Ipswich Road, Claydon, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 0AJ (01473) 833112

Provided and run by:
United Response

All Inspections

8, 9, 11, 18 April 2013

During an inspection in response to concerns

We met seven people using the service. Due to the complex needs of six of these people, which included limited or no verbal communication we were unable to gain their views and experiences of the service directly. However, we were able to make general observations of the quality of the service they received. One person we visited told us about their experience of using the service. They told us that they had different carers most of the time and on some days, such as the weekends; the agency did not who was going to provide cover. They said "Carers are often late and they don't contact me to let me know, when they are going to arrive and this makes me feel anxious".

We identified that five of the seven people we met during our inspection had epilepsy which required specific medicine, buccal midazalom. This medicine can be a life saving intervention following administration as it would provide a person with more time for the emergency services to respond and it may also stop the seizures. We spoke with seven staff who told us that they had not received training to ensure they could meet the needs of people diagnosed with Epilepsy.

Care and treatment was not planned and delivered in away that protected people's safety and welfare. The service did not have enough trained and skilled staff to meet the needs of the people using the service.