Moormead Care Home, on Moormead Road in Wroughton, was previously rated as ‘requires improvement’ but has now been downgraded to ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection earlier this year.

The report highlighted a lack of risk assessments for high-risk medications, which put residents at “serious risk”.

Inadequate guidance around choking, missing details from personal hygiene plans, and poor handling of residents at risk of malnutrition were also pointed out as serious concerns.

The care home, which is run by Fidelity Healthcare Moormead Limited and has had no manager since July 2024, has now been placed into special measures to protect its residents.

This will involve close monitoring from the CQC to ensure that people are safe while improvements are made.

“It’s deeply concerning that on our return to Moormead Care Home, we found a decline in the standard of care rather than the expected improvements,” said Neil Cox, CQC’s deputy director of operations.

“Staff didn’t consistently support people’s independence, and many people didn’t fully understand their rights or have the information needed to make informed decisions about their care and wellbeing.

“Leaders failed to include critical details in personal hygiene plans, such as what individuals could manage on their own and when staff support was needed.

“For those on high-risk medications such as blood thinners or paraffin-based creams, risk assessments were often absent, putting people at serious risk, especially in case of a fall or fire.

“We also found leaders provided inadequate guidance around choking risks.

“Worryingly, some people identified as at risk of malnutrition had no mention of this in their care plans. In one case, staff miscalculated a malnutrition risk which was then overlooked during internal checks.”

Inspectors described the Wroughton care home as 'deeply concerning'Inspectors described the Wroughton care home as ‘deeply concerning’. (Image: Google Maps) The inspection was carried out in February/March 2025 to follow up on warning notices issued after the care home’s last inspection in July 2024.

The care home is now rated ‘inadequate’ overall, two individual categories (safety and leadership) were classed as ‘inadequate’, while three others (effectiveness, caring and responsiveness) were classed as ‘requires improvement’.

However, the director of Fidelity Healthcare Usamah Islam has expressed his disappointment that the damning report has been published five months after the inspection took place.

He told the BBC: “Since that time, we have made significant improvements and we therefore do not feel that this judgement is a true reflection of where we are today.”

Other issues mentioned in the CQC report include low staff morale, poor leadership and disorganised records.

“Staff didn’t always respond to people’s immediate needs or act to reduce discomfort, concern or distress,” it reads.

“Leaders didn’t thoroughly investigate accidents, and staff’s record-keeping meant that care plans were disorganised, lacked clear guidance, and were often not stored with risk assessments.

“For example, one high-risk person’s skin integrity plan lacked specific instructions on monitoring and repositioning, with vague terms left undefined.”

The care home will remain under strict monitoring until it meets the specific improvement targets set by the CQC.

Mr Cox, from CQC, added: “We expect Moormead to make rapid and widespread improvements and have imposed conditions on the service to ensure this happens.

“We will return to check on their progress.”

Moormead Care Home and Fidelity Healthcare have been contacted by the Swindon Advertiser for further comment.