A CARE home has been criticised for showing a lack of respect for its elderly residents.

Cedars Residential Care Home, in Sudbury Road, Halstead, cares for as many as 63 people with dementia.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission have demanded the home takes action to address weaknesses outlined in its report.

After observing a lunchtime session, inspectors ruled residents “were not assisted in a way which maintained their dignity and independence”.

The report says: “We heard a staff member using infantile language such as ‘yummy yummy’ and ‘good girl’, which was not respectful of the person’s age.

“We also heard someone who uses the service say they wanted to sit somewhere else, only to be told by a member of staff ‘this is where you normally sit’.”

Cedars was also criticised for failing to report a possible abuse incident to the relevant authorities.

Training records showed only 20 of the 44 staff employed at the home had received training in safeguarding people from abuse.

The report said: “We spoke to two members of staff about how they would raise the alert if they suspected someone at the service was being abused and they could not tell us.”

It was also discovered 16 care staff, including seven senior staff members and the home’s activities co-ordinator, had no training in dementia care, The report stated: “This lack of training was putting people at risk of receiving unsafe and ineffective care.”

The home was deemed to have met standards in three of the seven inspected categories.

Cedars was praised for providing care and treatment “in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare”.

Proprietor Ajay Patel said: “We are addressing concerns raised by the CQC inspectors after their visit.

“The safeguarding incident has been investigated by Essex County Council and has been found to be unsubstantiated.”

Mr Patel said the home had also increased its training programme for staff in light of the report’s findings.