The manager of a care home slammed by the Care Quality Commission has insisted that immediate improvements are being made.

Inspectors who visited Upshire Residential Home, Woodredon House, Waltham Abbey, earlier this year, found that the home was not meeting any of the national standards and that residents’ dignity and safety was not respected.

Representatives from the health and social care watchdog, the CQC, said that family members have serious concerns.

An inspector said: “People’s privacy, dignity and independence were not respected. Their views and experiences were not taken into account in the way that the service was provided and delivered in relation to their care.

“People were not supported to express their views or get involved in making decisions about their care and treatment.

“Two relatives of people who lived at the home spoke of the diminishing skills and levels of independence of their family members since living in the home.

"One relative said that their family member had lost the ability to speak since being at the home. Another said that their family member had been able to go to college independently before they lived at the home but did not go out regularly now.

Teresa Torres, operations manager, was employed immediately after the report was released at the end of March and says that the findings do not reflect the great care taken of the residents in the 29-bed home.

She said: “The report was probably justified but it doesn’t show the bigger picture.

“I have only been in this position for three weeks on the back of the report. I have been based at Upshire to give the manager a helping hand.

“On the day of the inspection the cook had just lost her mother and the manager was in the kitchen, that is the reason for the comments about staffing.

“We have put our hands up and are now making the necessary improvements. We now have a full time maintenance man and there is an action plan in place to make improvements to the building internally. We are arranging meetings with every resident and their families to ensure that they are getting what they need.

“At the moment I am quite positive about the progress that we are making. A social worker came yesterday and said that he was very happy with what he saw.”

Many of the residents, ranging in age from 40-70, have learning disabilities and attend college, as well as taking part in crafts sessions and being visited by music groups.

The Woodredon Farm Lane home is owned by Southwark Park Nursing Home Ltd which owns another home in Lincolnshire, also found to be failing by the CQC, last month.

For the full report, visit http://www.cqc.org.uk/directory/1-130120116.