'Unsafe' care home warned over 'serious concerns'

Fairholme House provides residential care for 22 people

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has taken action against a care home after it was found to be "unsafe".

Following an inspection over June and July, the CQC has graded Fairholme House, in Bodicote, near Banbury, as inadequate and has issued it with two warning notices.

Inspectors found "serious concerns" about the management and safe care at the home, which provides residential care for 22 people - some of whom have dementia.

In a statement, the home said it took the CQC's findings "seriously and are already making strong progress under a detailed improvement plan".

The CQC said its inspectors had found that there was a lack of meaningful activities at the home, which "left people without enough stimulation or engagement".

Staff also failed to offer people a choice of drink and did not explain delays at mealtimes, causing "visible distress", their report found.

They also found that hazardous areas and materials were found unsecured, and that staff had blocked and neglected bathrooms - leaving them unusable due to stored equipment and broken facilities.

Roger James, the CQC's deputy director of operations in Oxfordshire, said: "During our inspection of Fairholme House, we found poor leadership had created unsafe conditions for the people living there."

He said that "restrictions", including one person who described not being offered a choice of when to bathe, had "left people feeling frustrated, disempowered, and at times unsafe in a place they should've been able to call home".

"We expect health and social care services to guarantee people's safety, dignity, independence, and choice."

"It was unacceptable that this service failed to provide even the most basic standards of care and left people at risk of avoidable harm."

In a statement to the BBC, Fairholme House said: "The wellbeing and safety of our residents has always been, and will remain, our top priority."

The home added that since the report, it had "strengthened leadership oversight, reviewed all care plans and training, and are working closely with the local authority to ensure every resident receives safe, compassionate, and person-centred care".