Vulnerable disabled residents suffered injuries at a care home where people walked around naked due to poor care, and basic safety standards were not met, a report has found. 

Church Lane in Walthamstow is one of Outward's four registered care homes in the borough and looks after people with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and complex needs. 

The home has been rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) by failing to meet has standards in three of five categories: safety, effectiveness and management of services.

Inspectors discovered the manager Michael Heinrich Dieter Vandrey had not been at the home in 10 months as he was on secondment, but the CQC were only informed about a three-month absence. 

Instead, it was being run by the deputy manager and area manager. 

The report highlighted incidents where people at the home had been injured and some relatives wanted their family members to leave due to safety concerns. 

The report said: "A relative told us they had been 'grabbed' by people at the service and said when it happened staff did not know what to do apart from saying to the person using the service 'don’t do that.'

"Another relative told us they thought the behaviour of other people in the home meant their family member was not safe. 

"Incidents showed that there were occasions where people had been harmed by other people in the service at night.

"A further relative said 'It’s not safe for [my relative] there. I’ve done complaints.

"To be honest I don’t know. I saw deep scratches on the back of [my relative’s] neck. Another time [my relative] got trapped in the lift. Since that incident, I just want [them] out.'"  

One resident at risk of malnutrition had not been reviewed by a dietician. 

Two relatives told inspectors they believed their family member was safe. 

Only three out of 16 permanent staff had completed autism-specific training and four staff members had out-of-date training. 

Relatives were "deterred" from visiting the home as the privacy and dignity of residents was not always upheld, with people undressing in the communal areas and staff not knowing what to do.

One relative said people were "always naked" when they visited and another relative said they no longer take their granddaughter because of this.

Inspectors found staff were seen to be caring and spoke to residents in a kind manner. This was backed up by feedback from some relatives.