A CARE home in Oxford has received a critical report from a watchdog amid concerns about staff knowledge of people’s needs and records keeping.

Cumnor Hill House, which currently provides personal and nursing care to 56 people, was rated as “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission after an inspection.

The watchdog said the inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing, recruitment, medicines management, records keeping, quality of care, staff knowledge of people's needs and management of the home.

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The report said: “We had received concerns of staff shortages and increased use of agency staff. We found the home was using a lot of agency staff.

“We found staff did not always know how to support people with challenging needs. For example, one person living on the unit that was closed due to covid was distressed as they wanted to go to another unit.

“Staff kept re-directing her offering her cereal and a cup of tea. She became agitated after being re-directed for the sixth time and spilt a cup of tea on a table in anger.

“None of the staff knew how to support the person with distraction strategies as indicated in their care plan. The person was later seen talking to themselves in front of a closed door. None of the staff attempted to engage with the person.”

A resident of the care home told the inspector: "I push button pendant to get help, sometimes a bit of a wait especially if you need the loo quickly in the night, can be a bit slow.”

Another one said: "There are times in the night when you are desperate, some wait so you don't always make the toilet. They are very good though if the bed is wet, they change it without any fuss."

A third resident said: "Always someone around, makes you feel safe, doesn't it."

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A resident’s relative said: "Staffing has been a real challenge especially during covid. There has been difficulty recruiting but they are trying hard to get the right staff on board and their target staffing levels are good."

The report also said that people's records were “not always up to date, lacked detail and some of them had conflicting information.”

The care home’s last rating, in June 2019, was “outstanding”.

A spokesperson for Berkley Care Group, who manage the care home, said: “As a group we strive for the provision of outstanding care in all our homes. The CQC has recognised that we deliver safe, responsive care at Cumnor Hill House.

“Nevertheless, we are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that any areas for improvement as set out in their inspection report are being addressed swiftly and a programme for action implemented.”

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi