A care home in Oxford has received a critical report from the watchdog following a recent inspection.

The Albany Care Home on London Road in Headington was rated ‘requires improvement' - the second lowest rating possible- by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

READ MORE: Starbucks handed NEW hygiene rating

Concerns were raised, in particular, about the management of the care home.

The report reads: “The rating for this key question ['Is the service well led?'] has remained requires improvement.

“This meant the service management and leadership was inconsistent.

“Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

“At our last inspection we found people's records were not always accurate, complete and contemporaneous in respect of each person and the provider's quality assurance systems were not always effective and not used to drive improvement.

“This was a breach of regulation 17(1) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

“Not enough improvement had been made at this inspection and the provider was still in breach of regulation 17.

“We found some people's records were still not always completed and some documents had been left blank whilst others were completed incorrectly as reported in the safe domain.

Oxford Mail: Concerns have been raised about a care home in Headington Concerns have been raised about a care home in Headington (Image: Pixabay)

“Where shortfalls had been identified, there were either no clear timelines for the actions to be completed or the timelines were not met."

The Albany is a care home that provides nursing and personal care to older people in Oxford.

At the time of the inspection in July, there were 36 people using the service.

The care home had already been rated ‘requires improvement’ at a previous inspection in August last year.

The provider was therefore found to be in repeated breach of the regulations.

The inspectors nevertheless praised the safety and effectiveness of the care home in Oxford.

The report continued: “Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process.

“Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed.

READ MORE: £160,000 pedestrian crossing opens on A4074 after weeks of work

“Staff access to supervisions and appraisals had improved and staff told us they felt supported.

“New staff went through an induction programme which included the provider's own mandatory training as well as shadowing opportunities of experienced members of staff.

“People had a pleasant dining experience which offered a variety of appetising homemade food choices available at times that suited people's preferences.

“The menu was overseen, and food prepared by an enthusiastic catering team who knew people's needs very well.

"Staff supported people to maintain food and fluid intakes.”