A CARE home in Cirencester has been put into special measures after inspectors rated it as ‘inadequate’.

Watermoor House was deemed to fall short in a number of areas of service, following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in November, the Standard can reveal.

The report, published on Wednesday, said: “Our inspection highlighted shortfalls where a number of regulations were not met and improvements were required.”

Training methods at the care home were one of the causes for concern in the report, with one member of staff having stated: “Training is mainly a tick box exercise to show we have done it.”

Another commented on how they felt the training provided was 'useless ', according to the report.

Effectiveness of the service and leadership were scored as ‘inadequate’ in the report, while safety and responsiveness of the service was highlighted as requiring improvement.

However, despite the overall rating of ‘inadequate’ – the care home received ‘good’ for how caring the service was.

Services placed in ‘special measures’ will be inspected again within six months.

The service will be kept under review and if needed “could be escalated to urgent enforcement action”.

Watermoor House, on Watermoor Road, is registered to provide support for up to 39 people.

There were 33 residents at the home at the time of the inspection, with several living with the first stages of dementia.

A statement from the care home said: "The trustees, managers and staff at Watermoor House are all devastated that the home has been rated overall as ‘Inadequate’ based on the CQC’s inspection criteria and placed in special measures.

"The trustees and home manager Ruth Halstead have already held follow up meetings with the CQC inspectors and based on their feedback the team have already put improvements in place in the key areas addressed by the report.

"The team were encouraged by the rating of ‘GOOD’ in the care it provides to all its residents but are committed to ensuring all elements within the home meet the same standards.

"We acknowledge the CQC’s concerns and are determined to use the inspection report to provide an even better service going forward.

"All residents and relatives have been notified of the situation in writing and have been provided with CQC’s summary report.

"The trustees and home manager are making themselves available over the next two weeks for meetings with any resident or relative who has any questions or concerns.

"As always, caring for the residents is the primary concern of everyone who works at Watermoor House, and the staff and trustees are already working very hard to ensure that a higher rating is given when the CQC inspectors return in a few months.

"Founded as a care home in 1952, Watermoor House has been providing outstanding care to its residents for over 63 years.

"The dedicated team provide residential and respite care for up to 39 residents in a comfortable and caring environment where each resident is treated as part of an extended family."

More to follow.

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