A CARE home in Witney has been told to improve after concerns were raised about staffing levels and people's safety.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) had been alerted to the lack of staff by council workers and other health care professionals and so carried out an unannounced inspection at Cedar Court Care Home in January.

During the two day visit the inspection team heard how residents sometimes had to wait as long as half an hour before staff could take them to the toilet, while on another occasion a resident was seen 'crying for help' in the open door of their bedroom.

The home in Moorland Road was rated as 'requires improvement' by the CQC.

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Inspectors said in their report: "During the inspection we saw that the current staffing levels forced staff to hurry with their tasks which had an impact on their quality of work and interaction with people.

"On a number of occasions, we observed staff walking past without checking on a person or just calling in to say 'hello'.

"As staff were rushed to complete their tasks in the morning this resulted in people not being treated in a dignified way.

"For example, one person was assisted with their clothes, however, they were wearing their trousers back to front."

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Bathrooms and communal areas at Cedar Court Care Home were found to be dirty, according to the report, while the dining experience for residents was ‘not always positive’ with residents sometimes given the same meal twice a day.

One person told inspectors the food was "soggy and horrible".

The CQC said the home had a history of not providing safe, effective and responsive care, and was rated as inadequate in 2017 when inspectors also found concerns relating to people's safety, staffing levels and the leadership of the service.

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A spokesperson for Cedar Court said the home was 'disappointed' with the CQC’s findings.

They added“An improvement plan has been developed and we have been actively implementing this, and will continue to do so.

“A highly experienced regional director is overseeing the home to implement the agreed plan, closely supported by an Operations Manager and Regional Clinical Lead.

“We also have an active recruitment programme in place to appoint further carers and a dedicated manager."

The home will be giving the CQC, adult social services and residents’ relatives regular updates on progress.