A CARE home in Headington where all staff nurses had quit and medication was handed out late needs “urgent” action, according to inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated The Albany Care Home, London Road, as inadequate and has insisted on improvements.

It said no breaches of regulations were found during a July visit but it returned in October after “serious concerns” from council bosses and residents.

Since July, five registered nurses and its manager, who was replaced, had left, leaving it reliant on agency nurses only.

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The CQC said this meant “risks to people had been increased” at the home for up to 48 people and resulted in “lack of leadership” by nurses.

It said: “People raised concerns about the high usage of agency nurses as they felt they did not know them well enough.”

Managers chose to close the home to admissions following concerns and the October visit found it inadequate in four out of five areas – safety, effectiveness, responsive and well-led – and the CQC said it “requires improvement” for caring.

It has two warning notices for care and medicines and must report back with improvements.

Oxford East Labour MP Andrew Smith said he went to the home with constituents’ concerns over infection, safety and personal independence.

He said: “I welcome the Care Quality Commission stepping in. It is essential that this home is brought up to standard.”

Inspectors from the CQC said there were “no suitable systems” to give out medicines and some residents did not get them on time or as prescribed.

One who missed their morning medication said this “impacted on their medical condition”.

Care plans were not fully updated so there was a risk staff “would have missed important information” it added.

Staff had not had pressure wound training and one resident who had to be moved every three to four hours waited between 11 and 15 hours. This was because the worker wrongly thought they did not need to be moved as they were in a chair with an electrically operated air cushion.

Some staff showed “little regard” for OAPs, the CQC said.

One worker “removed a clothes protector from a person, without asking their permission or informing the person this was what they were going to do”.

Training for conditions like dementia, diabetes and Parkinson’s had not been completed, it said.

Albany spokeswoman Charlotte Nicholds said the home remains closed to admissions until six appointed nurses started work.

She said: “We are sorry that Albany Care Home was not compliant with all of the CQC’s inspection criteria and fell short of the standards we expect all of our homes to provide. Problems were caused by staff leaving for career moves amid a national shortage of nurses and it is making changes.”

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said it stopped paying for new people to go to the home in September. It currently pays for 16 people to stay there.

 

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