AN UNANNOUNCED inspection at a failing care unit for people with learning disabilities has found it has made improvements.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) launched the investigation after a damning inspection of Headington’s Slade House in September last year.

The inspection had raised concerns about patient safety and cleanliness at Slade House, which is owned by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Patients complained they did not feel safe and were ignored by staff.

Emergency equipment was found either unusable or out of date.

Then in November the residence was closed to admissions following the findings.

At the time, trust chief executive Katrina Percy said she was concerned the issues had “not come to light sooner” and said the trust was conducting its own investigation.

But the most recent inspection at the 15-bed residence on December 16 found that staff at Slade House in Horspath Driftway had responded positively to the criticisms outlined in previous inspections.

In the CQC report, it said staff had a “clear understanding of environmental risk hazards”.

This included putting all roof window restrictors back in place, undertaking an updated fire risk assessment in both units, ordering in new furniture and putting correct hinge fittings in wardrobes.