Banbury area care home goes from special measures to 'good'
A Bodicote care home has been taken out of special measures and has been given a 'good' rating following improvements.
Fairholme House is no longer rated as ‘inadequate’, a standard given by the Care Quality Commission in October 2025, when the home was put into special measures.
The CQC carried out the inspection from June 6 – 20 to follow up on warning notices previously issued to the provider and to assess whether the required improvements had been made.
"The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in special measures,” the inspection team said this week.
“At our previous inspection, the provider was in breach of regulations relating to good governance, safe care and treatment, person centred care and the need for consent. We found improvements had been made in these areas and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations. However, the provider remained in breach in relation to good governance.”
Fairholme House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 22 older adults. At the time of the inspection there were 13 people living at the home, some of whom were living with dementia.
Although the provider had made progress and implemented a range of governance and quality assurance systems, these were not always effective in identifying and addressing shortfalls, the team reported.
“Improvements were still required in relation to care records, staff training, recruitment practices and quality assurance processes. Care plans, risk assessments and monitoring records were not always sufficiently detailed which meant records did not always provide staff with clear guidance about how people's needs should be met.
“People were not always involved in decisions about their care and opportunities to review and contribute to care planning were not consistently available.
"However, the provider had identified this and had begun introducing new processes to strengthen people’s involvement in their care.”
The team reported that staff knew people well and demonstrated a good understanding of their individual needs, preferences and risks. Staff promoted choice and supported people to maintain as much independence as possible.
People spoke positively to the team about the care they received. However opportunities for meaningful activity and engagement were not always consistently available.
The provider demonstrated a willingness to learn and improve and had acted in response to concerns identified during this inspection. However, further work was required to ensure improvements were embedded and sustained.
The CQC asked the provider to submit an action plan setting out how they will address the concerns identified during this inspection.
They said: “People and their relatives told us staff were kind, compassionate and respectful. People told us, “I feel very safe, I’ve been very fortunate, staff are kind,
“People received responsive care and were supported to access healthcare services when needed. People told us they felt safe and were treated with dignity and respect.
“People told us they were not always involved in their care, however felt they received good care.”
People's health needs were monitored and staff worked well with healthcare professionals to support positive outcomes.