Concerns about the standard of care in an old people's home are to be investigated by social services, writes Emma Henry.

Relatives and friends of residents in Glebe House, Mill Street, Kidlington, packed a public meeting last night and demanded action over what they claimed were a catalogue of problems at the home during the last year. Allegations of patients going missing or not being looked after properly, and agency staff working at the home being inadequately qualified, were made to the county council's director of social services, Mary Robertson, and her deputy Nick Welch.

They answered questions from the floor for nearly 90 minutes.

New Glebe House manager Sonia Button was also heavily criticised, with claims she was not up to the job.

But she was backed by Mrs Robertson, who said she had confidence in her abilities. Mrs Robertson reassured relatives their concerns would be looked into and the findings reported back.

Mrs Robertson told the meeting she believed many of the problems stemmed from salaries for staff at the home being cut to bring them in line with other county council-run homes. This, she said, had caused 11 staff to leave in the past year, and the need to bring in a lot of agency workers, which led to a lack of continuity for the residents. But she said five permanent staff had been taken on in the last month and others were being recruited. Independent inspections had found no major, although some minor, faults at the home. She added: "We will continue to monitor the home very closely."

Mrs Robertson promised to report her findings back to the parish council and the Friends of Glebe House within six weeks.