Oxfordshire care home residents left at risk after abuse claim, report finds

A care home worker was allowed to continue in post despite being accused of abusing a resident, inspectors said.

Tall Trees Care Centre in Shipton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, left residents at risk of possible further abuse, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) reported.

It rated the home "inadequate" and issued a warning notice.

Caring Homes Healthcare Group said the individual was suspended as soon as it was made aware of the allegation.

The group, which runs the centre, also claimed "many aspects" of the report were "factually incorrect".

The CQC said it visited the home in May after receiving information about the alleged incident.

It found the accused staff member continued to work that day as well as completing two further shifts.

The report concluded: "The leadership team was aware of these allegations but did not take appropriate action to investigate them, putting people at risk of potential further abuse."

The CQC said local authorities were also investigating the incident and carrying out a review of residents at the home.

Inspectors said they found no further evidence during the visit that the 29 residents were being harmed.

Rebecca Bauers, CQC's head of inspection for adult social care, said: "People were not protected from abuse and there was a lack of protection from the risk of infection."

The report said staff did not take the temperatures of the inspectors, to check for signs of possible Covid infection, and hand sanitiser was not available in all areas.

Oxfordshire County Council said it would monitor the home to ensure managers "tackle improvements with urgency".

In a statement, Caring Homes Healthcare Group said: "We do not tolerate abuse and as soon as we were made aware of the allegation we suspended the individual and terminated their employment after an investigation.

"We put in place a detailed action plan in May to ensure we addressed the areas where improvements were needed."

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