Inspectors report continued concern over care of patients in Banbury nursing home after a second visit in 12 months

A team of inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Banbury Heights Nursing Home on May 2 and its report shows neither the ‘safe’ nor ‘well led’ sections of the operation have improved sufficiently.

Last June the home received a ‘requires improvement’ notice after an inspection was prompted by reports of concern about the service.

Banbury Heights is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for to up to 58 older and younger people with dementia, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, mental health needs, learning disabilities or autism. At the time of inspection there were 47 people using the service.

“We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it,” the inspectors said in their report.

“People (at Banbury Heights) were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

“Staff did not always have the information required to provide safe, effective care. Care plans and risk assessments did not always contain relevant, up to date information within them.

"People were supported safely with medicines. We found improvements had been made to medicines management. People were supported by staff who had been safely recruited. The provider completed police checks and gained references for staff prior to them starting work. Staff received an induction and training.”

The team found risks to people had not always been mitigated. They found concerns with risk associated with skin pressure damage, health conditions and supporting people with distress or anxieties.

Unexplained bruising had not been investigated or mitigating strategies implemented to prevent the risk of reoccurrence. Staff had received appropriate training to understand people's individual needs and to follow the providers policies and procedures.

Systems and processes were not always effective in ensuring the registered manager and provider had oversight of the service.

Systems were in place to gain feedback from people, relatives, and staff. Staff said they felt supported within their roles and people that they felt safe.

The registered manager and provider were open and transparent throughout the inspection. Updated records and new procedures were implemented immediately after the inspection. However, these will require time to become embedded into practice to reduce risks.

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 May 2022) and there were breaches of regulation.

"The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations,” the new report said.

The new report can be found here.

Aileen Sanchez, manager of Banbury Heights, said: “We are heavily disappointed with the outcome as the team had worked very hard. However, despite the repeat requiring improvement the inspection team was complimentary regarding the improvements the home made regarding the administration of medication and other areas that had previously caused the Commission concerns.

"We have demonstrated a willingness to improve (as what CQQ wrote in their report) and look forward to demonstrating that further progress has been made when the inspectors return to the home.”

The CQC had highlighted that the home had implemented new systems to improve the oversight of the service after the 2022 inspection.

“However, these need to be embedded into practice and sustained,” they said. “The provider and registered manager were open and transparent throughout the inspection. The provider and registered manager worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals.”

“We will not let this outcome have an impact or disheartened us to consistently strive to improve standards and provide care and companionship to our residents,” said Ms Sanchez.