THE shocking state of disrepair at Oxford Community Hospital has been exposed by a damning report.

The 24-bed hospital, at the Churchill Hospital in Headington, shut in May last year after being declared “unfit for purpose” by the county’s director of public health following a third outbreak of the superbug C. difficile in six months.

Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), which is hoping to reopen the hospital on a new site later this year, ordered the closure because the building “did not lend itself to effective infection control measures”.

However, a report of an inspection carried out by the Health Protection Agency just days prior to the closure revealed how dangerous the hospital had become to patients.

The report – which only came to light following a Freedom of Information Act request by a county councillor – was presented to the Oxfordshire joint health overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday. In it, inspectors found: l The fabric of the hospital was in a poor state of repair with little evidence routine maintenance had taken place for some time.

* Repairs were incomplete.

* Floors, walls, ceilings, windows, fixtures and fittings were not intact, paint was peeling and skirting was missing.

* Inappropriate storage impeded cleaning.

* Bed spacing appeared less than guidance recommended.

* Equipment used for patients was damaged and stored on the floor.

* The kitchen fridge was leaking, and cutlery was left to soak in a container of water.

The report said “poor practices” had led to a “preventable risk to vulnerable patients” and concluded: “The lack of routine and subsequent poor maintenance has led to deterioration of the building, fixtures and fittings.”

Dr Peter Skolar, chairman of the health scrutiny committee, said he was “gobsmacked” by the findings.

He said: “The report said there was a lack of routine maintenance and the hospital was in a despicable condition.

“It beggars belief. It’s horrendous. Someone has fallen down badly on doing their job properly.”

Dr Skolar refused to rule out referring the case to the Secretary of State for Health.

Last night the PCT was unavailable for comment.

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk