Hackney Council has announced a rehabilitation and respite centre regarded by many patients as a lifeline when they come out of hospital is going to close at the end of the month.

Median Road Resource Centre provides 24-hour clinical-led care for adults undergoing rehabilitation following hospitalisation, respite care for up to six weeks and interim care, which is a social care service for those too frail or lacking in confidence to return home..

A damning Care Quality Commission report on the care home last September found vulnerable patients were not being safeguarded from abuse there, after it was discovered no investigation was carried out after a patient was found with bruises.

It was also found that staff at the home in Lower Clapton did not always treat people with dignity and respect, following an unannounced inspection last June after the daughter of a service user contacted the CQC, dissatisfied with the way her mother was being looked after.

Hackney Council has stated the move to shut the home “reflects the changing needs of patients and the desire of more people to recover from hospital treatment and be cared for in their own homes”.

But patient group Hackney Healthwatch said news of the closure had surprised many residents who had not been consulted over the decision to close the council-funded 37-bed care unit.

Former patient Mervyn Diese said the closure of the home was his “worst news of the week”.

“For me this was one of the most important stepping stones I had coming out of hospital with no fixed address to recover,” he said.

Patient representative Shirley Murgraff is concerned that not all patients want to go immediately home following an illness, and many would feel much safer in hospital.

The home will be replaced by a new Re-ablement and Intermediate Care Service (RICS) led by Homerton Hospital and supported by the council, providing intensive, therapeutic support at home.

Interim care take place in the council’s housing with care schemes, to build patients’ confidence in a supported, domestic setting before returning home.

The Council is examining potential uses for the building, including a medium-term conversion into temporary accommodation for homeless families, and long-term plans for a much-needed residential care home.

Cllr Jonathan Mc Shane, cabinet member for health and social care said the closure would allow for a better service.

“It is sad to say goodbye to a facility that helped so many Hackney people over the years, and in its time was a trailblazer, and I want to pay tribute to everyone, past and present, who worked at Median Road.

“In years to come, I hope that Median Road will once more play an important role in caring for older people in Hackney as a residential care home, which the borough really needs.”

A spokesman for the council said: ““The council consulted with service users and will continue to do so.”