An Abbots Langley care home has been told that action is needed after it failed five out of six assessment areas.

Tanners, in Stewart Close, has not met the required standards of care in areas such as respecting and involving people at the home, maintaining the care and welfare of people who use the service and safeguarding them from abuse.

Staffing was found to be wanting and there was a lack of assessment with the quality of service, an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) reveals.

The only area considered to be satisfactory was the management of medicines, the report published on January 17 shows.

An unannounced inspection by the CQC took place on December 3 and 4 last year due to concerns raised that "one or more of the essential standards of quality and safety was not being met".

Five people lived at Tanners at the time the inspection took place. The home is designed to provide accommodation and personal care for up to seven people with learning and/or physical disabilities.

Tanners, whose registered provider is Life Opportunities Trust, is described as a care home service without nursing.

CQC inspectors spoke with five members of staff and looked at the care plans and records for four people.

The report states that: "The people in the home were not able to engage in conversation so we observed how staff interacted with them.

"Not all staff interactions we observed were positive or for long periods, people did not have meaningful stimulation or interactions with staff. People's dignity and privacy was not always respected."

The report stated that there was "not enough skilled staff on duty to ensure that people's needs were being met" and that there were gaps in staff’s training.

Inspectors felt that people’s privacy was not being respected as one person was in bed with their door "wide open" and another person was being assisted with medication by two staff while their bedroom door was ajar.

Staff were also found to be talking about their own personal matters in front of someone who lived at the home.

The report said: "We noted that people were left unattended for long periods whilst staff carried out domestic tasks elsewhere in the home. Staff told us ‘there is a lack of time and a lack of staff’, ‘morale is low’ and ‘there is no time for activities some days’."

The CQC said the provider has been told to send them a report to make sure that action has been taken to address their concerns.