TWO care homes in Oxfordshire have joined the long list of those failing the county’s elderly.

Health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found The Meadows care home in Didcot and Langford View in Bicester breached Government regulations.

Both homes are operated by the Orders of St John Care Trust, which runs 23 care homes in Oxfordshire.

The two homes join a list of 26 out of 162 in the county that have not met CQC standards in the past 12 months.

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CQC inspectors said three areas at Langford View care home in Coach House Mews required improvement – safety, caring and leadership of care. They also raised concerns over how patients’ medication was recorded.

Their report, published last week, said: “Medicines records showed three occasions where there was no record of whether a person’s medicines had been administered.

This meant people may not have received their prescribed medicines.”

Oxford Mail:

The Meadows in Didcot.

Other issues that arose during the inspection included residents’ confidential information being kept in corridors and communal areas.

Two other measures – effectiveness of care and responsiveness – were deemed good.

The CQC made an unannounced inspection at The Meadows in Britwell Road, Didcot, after receiving complaints about “how people’s pressure area care was managed, the levels of staffing and the cleanliness of the home”.

The report, published last month following the inspection in December, found the 65-resident care home breached four regulations set to safeguard the frail, aged or mentally incapacitated.

An unnamed relative of a resident told inspectors: “The care is variable, good sometimes not so good at others.

Continuity of care is a real issue.”

The report said: “People sometimes had to wait to be assisted once they called for staff. This had an impact on their dignity.”

Residents at risk of getting pressure sores were not properly monitored and dietary requirements were not always correctly recorded.

Jacquie Pearce-Gervis, chairwoman of the pressure group Patient Voice, said: “It’s clearly not satisfactory.

“These care homes are looking after our loved ones and they’re not doing it to the standard they require.

“I’m glad these issues have been flagged because we’d never know about them.”

Patsy Just, assistant operations director for The Orders of St John Care Trust in Oxfordshire, said: “We take the findings of these reports very seriously. We recognise that there are areas where we can improve and are absolutely committed to making sure we make any necessary changes as quickly and smoothly as possible.”