An Oxfordshire care home has been put into special measures following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.

Orchard House in Harwell near Didcot was previously rated as outstanding but after an unannounced inspection in April it was downgraded to inadequate.

The inspection took place after the CQC received concerns about its safety and management.

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The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

The care home concentrates on neurological rehabilitation helping people dealing with brain and spinal injuries, strokes, minimally conscious states, and other conditions.

There were 10 people living at Orchard House at the time of the inspection

According to the CQC website, an inadequate rating means that the service is “performing badly” and enforcement action against the provider of the service has been taken.

Inadequate is the lowest rating possible that the CQC can give.

The CQC will now keep the service under review and we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.

The facility could be closed if the CQC is not satisfied enough improvements have been made.

The inspector wrote in the report: "The provider did not ensure consistent actions were taken to reduce risks to people and plans were not in place to minimise those risks.

"The management of medicines was not always safe. Not all staff were up to date with or had completed mandatory training.

"Staff did not receive regular supervisions, spot checks and team meetings were infrequent.

"Staffing levels did not always support people to stay safe and well."

The report added staff members did not always treat people with "warmth, dignity and respect".

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It continued: "The service did not ensure that clear and consistent records were kept for people who used the service and the service management did not always inform CQC about notifiable incidents."

It also said that families and friends of residents did not feel that they were involved in the planning of their care.

The report went on to state that care plans did not always contain information specific to people's needs and in most cases up to date care plans were not in place. 

The Active Care Group, which provides care services throughout the UK, said it was "very disappointed" with the rating.

In a statement Active Care Group, said: “Following the CQCs initial feedback we took immediate action to ensure staff had the guidance and information to support the residents at the facility.

“We have taken onboard the findings of the report and have swiftly identified key areas of improvement to our service.”

It said it had improved risk assessment processes, reviewed all documentation, and undertaken a "robust" programme of audit and quality improvement.

The statement added: “We are committed to making these improvements in a timely manner.”