Oxfordshire families pay £6k a month for care homes left uninspected

New data from OpenScore shows families pay an average of £1,615 a week for care based on Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings nearly five years old.

This means families are basing crucial decisions on information that may not accurately reflect current standards.

Care homes that have not been inspected for more than eight years include Bridge House in Abingdon, Eden House Residential Home in Oxford, Oxford Respite Service in Headington, and Newland House in Witney.

In some cases, care homes have not been inspected for more than nine years, including Mon Choisy Care Home in Kennington, Merryfield House Nursing Home in Witney, and Brook House Residential Care Home.

More concerningly care homes rated ‘requires improvement’ have been left years without reinspection, Cheney House and The Ridings in Banbury last received inspections in 2022, while OSJCT Longlands in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, and the Albany Care Home in Headington were last inspected in 2023.

The previous CQC models for inspection would typically mean care homes rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ would be inspected every 2 to 5 year, meanwhile those rated ‘requires improvement’ should be inspected within 12 month.

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More concerningly care homes rated ‘requires improvement’ have been left years without reinspection (Image: Radar)

But, a spokesperson for CQC, said the service now priorities where a current risk has been identified but “obviously we don’t want services going too long between inspections either”

They added: “CQC currently uses a risk-based approach to inspections. This means striking a balance between responding to emerging risk, re-inspecting services with aged ratings, and first-time inspections for newly registered services.”

The same survey found 65 per cent of people stop trusting an online review for a restaurant or hotel after just six months, and 89 per cent consider real-time data transparency essential when choosing care for a relative.

Debbie Harris, founder of OpenScore and Autumna, said: “Families in Oxfordshire are making some of the most expensive care decisions in the country, and they deserve to make them on the best available information.

“An inspection result from nearly five years ago does not reflect what a home looks like today.

“OpenScore gives families the current picture they need between official inspections.”

OpenScore is not a replacement for CQC regulation, but provides families with a more current view of daily care home standards.

The platform aggregates more than 65 real-time indicators daily, from safety checks and dining quality to staff training and live resident and visitor feedback, to provide a current picture of a home’s standards regardless of when the last official inspection took place.