A LACK of care, staff shortages and illegible patient forms are among the problems found at county care providers during five failed inspections.

Of 17 reports published in the last month by regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC), five failed one or more standards.

Home Choice Care, a home care provider in Cowley, performed most poorly failing four of the CQC’s standards.

Jack Howarth House, a care home in Oxford; Wantage Nursing Home and Real Life Options, a home care provider based in Yarnton, all failed in a number of categories, as well as a fifth home in Henley.

Inspectors found medication not being administered at Home Choice Care; staff failing to knock before entering bedrooms and moving people in wheelchairs without speaking to them at Jack Howarth House. Call bells went unanswered for up to 40 minutes at Wantage Nursing Home.

Jacquie Pearce-Gervis, of Oxfordshire health watchdog Patient Voice, said: “These are very alarming results. We put our loved ones into these care homes and we expect them to be looked after to a high standard.”

It comes as the Government today launches new measures to protect people receiving care in the event of their provider collapsing.

The CQC will be given new powers to check on the finances of home care and care home providers.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said he wanted to avoid a repeat of the anguish created by the 2011 collapse of the care home company Southern Cross, which had a number of homes in Oxfordshire.

He said: “The fear and upset the Southern Cross collapse caused to care home residents and families was unacceptable. This early warning system will bring reassurance to people in care and will allow action to be taken to ensure care continues if a provider fails.”

The latest failures follow an Oxford Mail report in March that 47 per cent of the CQC’s reports published between January and March, 28 of 60, had shown one or more failings.

Oxford East Labour MP Andrew Smith has said this “most vital” sector needs more money and better training for care workers to improve standards.

He said: “I am very concerned for the future because we are certain to have more frail and elderly people who need this sort of support. As we see from these reports, the quality and provision is just too patchy. We have to raise the standards.”

Jack Howarth House spokesman Russell Evans said: “We are disappointed when any part of our service falls below the high standards we set ourselves. The regulator judged that our dip in performance had a minor impact on residents.

“Since the inspection we have refreshed staff training to make sure we always take residents’ views into consideration.”

Steve Wood, the managing director of Sanctuary Care, which runs Wantage Nursing Home, said: “The welfare of our residents is always our top priority and whilst we recognise the CQC’s findings we are confident we are well on the way to delivering the recommended improvements fully.”

Home Choice Care refused to comment, and Real Life and One Step failed to comment when contacted.

CARE homes that failed the standard:
 

  • Home Choice Care, a home care provider in Cowley, failed four of the CQC’s standards following an inspection on February 7. The report found people were not getting safe or appropriate care, patients were not protected from the risk of abuse, staff were not properly trained and supervised, and complaints were not acted on properly.
  • Wantage Nursing Home failed two standards following a return inspection on March 15. The report found patients were not getting safe and appropriate care and there were not enough staff to keep people safe.
     
  • Jack Howarth House, in Oxford, failed one standard following an inspection on March 12. The report found people were not being treated with respect.
     
  • Real Life Options, a home care provider based in Yarnton, failed one standard following an inspection on January 7. The report found staff were not properly trained and supervised.