A Hackney Council run respite and rehabilitation care home in Median Road was not safeguarding vulnerable live-in patients from abuse, and no investigation was carried out after a patient was found with bruises.

The damning Care Quality Commission (CQC) report on Median Road Care Home also concludes staff did not always treat people with dignity and respect.

The home in Lower Clapton failed five of the six CQC categories in June following an unannounced inspection, after the daughter of a service user contacted the CQC, dissatisfied with the way her mother was being looked after.

The centre provides 24-hour care for adults undergoing rehabilitation following hospitalisation, interim care and respite care for up to six weeks.

CQC inspectors discovered a staff member did not fill out an incident report after bruises were found on a patient, and following allegations of abuse they failed to record the incident appropriately or report concerns to the manager.

“We were concerned that an allegation from a family member of the neglect and poor care of their relative who used the service was treated as a complaint rather than as a safeguarding issue which required safeguarding procedures to be followed,” said CQC inspectors in their report. They found no evidence that complaints were investigated or that disciplinary action was taken with staff.

The alarming news comes following the conviction of a nurse in July of carer ill-treatment and wilful neglect at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Faderera Grace Bello, 54, of Southern Way, Romford, was recorded on a secret CCTV camera telling 92-year-old dementia patient Bridget Rees to “shut up” and was also filmed manhandling the victim in a heavy-handed manner, at one point poking her in the head and face.

Her family installed the camera in the NHS-run Seacole Nursing Home in Nuttall Street, Hoxton, after their concerns about bruising on her body were dismissed by managers at the home.

Although inspectors witnessed the majority of staff interacting positively with people, two instances gave them cause for concern.

One staff member showed a “lack of sensitivity and awareness of a person’s needs” when they were asked to help fix a problem with the tv, handing them the remote control and telling them to sort the issue out for themselves, “in their own time”. “However the person could not manage independently,” noted the inspector.

Another worker spoke “roughly and inappropriately” to another person about they way they were handling the buttons on their clothes.

Inspectors found records of complaints about staff being “rude and dismissive”, reflecting these observations, and could find no evidence individuals were ever addressed to make sure similar incidents were not repeated.

The chair of the Health in Hackney scrutiny commission ordered a report to show how the council was addressing the findings in the damning report, which also flagged up staff did not receive regular training or supervision.

Rob Blackstone, Assistant Director, Adult Social Care and Ilona Sarulakis, Principal Head of Adult Social Care reported back: “Though we are disappointed with the outcome of the inspection, it has enabled the service to reflect and take stock of where MRRC needs to be if it is to continue to function as a temporary placement option for the residents of Hackney.

“It is envisaged that the resident experience, the approach in which care support staff deliver services and the leadership displayed by senior staff will improve and contribute to the centre once again providing a first class service to the people of Hackney.”

A Hackney Council spokesman said: “Although a number of areas have been highlighted by the CQC, the overall level of satisfaction from residents regarding the care services they receive remains high.”