TWO people living at an ‘inadequate’ care home in South Oxfordshire died in one week after testing positive for Covid-19.

A number of residents and staff members at the John Masefield House in the village of Burcot, near Abingdon, have contracted the virus after an outbreak in the facility.

The news comes days after this paper reported that health inspectors found that the care home for 22 adults with physical disabilities had failed to provide Covid-19 safety measures.

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The Care Quality Commission’s damning findings were published last month after an inspection of the facility on October 22.

The shocking report concluded that the service, which is managed by private provider Valorum Care, was not deemed ‘safe’ and that residents there were ‘at risk of avoidable harm’ as systems were either not in place or not robust enough to ensure risks to people were managed safely.

A spokesperson for Valorum Care confirmed that the business was aware there were ‘a number of issues’ at John Masefield House and that a series of major changes were being implemented.

However, nearly two months after the CQC rated the facility as ‘inadequate’ two residents died after contracting Covid-19 at the care home.

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A Valorum Care Group spokesperson commented: “We can confirm that a number of staff and residents have tested positive for Covid-19 and that sadly, following admittance to hospital, two residents have died.

“Our team are devastated by their loss and our hearts go out to their family and friends at this difficult time.

“We are supporting the families, other residents and our staff as we come to terms with this tragic situation.”

Health inspectors’ findings revealed that there were a number of concerns about risks relating to infection control, which were not ‘effectively managed’.

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There were no cleaning records for people’s rooms and cleaning staff did not record this.

The report said: “Infection control audits had also not been completed on a regular basis during the pandemic and they did not monitor the systems and processes that should be in place to manage Covid-19 risks.

“Individual risk assessments had not been completed for staff or people using the service to identify the risk levels in relation to contracting the virus.

“There were also no plans in place to identify how risks relating to the spread of infection would be managed in relation to the environment. There were no zoning and cohorting plans in place in advance of any outbreak.”