A NURSING home in Burley-in-Wharfedale has been rated inadequate and placed in 'special measures' by care inspectors who found insufficient staff were on duty to meet the needs of residents and keep them safe.

The unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of Burley Hall Nursing Home in Cornmill Lane was carried out on November 3 and 5 last year at short notice due to a number of concerns received by the health and social care watchdog over staffing levels at the home which provides nursing and personal care for up to 51 older people, some of who are living with dementia.

At the time of the inspection 48 people were using the service and of particular concern to inspectors were staffing levels on the Wharfedale unit, which accommodates up to 31 people with nursing needs.

Following discussions with people, their relatives and staff, inspectors found the needs of people were not being met in a timely way and duty rotas showed staffing levels had fallen below the levels stated by the manager on many occasions in the weeks prior to the inspection.

A total of six breaches in regulations relating to staff, medicines, complaints, safeguarding, person-centred care and quality assurance were identified by inspectors and warning notices issued.

Overall inspectors found: the service was not safe due to insufficient staffing levels; not consistently effective due to people's weight, nutritional and hydration needs not being monitored placing them at risk of not receiving enough food and drink to stay healthy; was not consistently responsive as people did not always receive person-centred care and was not well led.

However, the service was found to be good at caring, with people praising the staff, describing them as kind, caring and compassionate. People's privacy and dignity was respected and maintained. The home's environment was also found to be clean, well maintained and furnished to a high standard.

As the home has been placed in special measures it will be kept under review and be inspected again within six months.

A spokesman for the Bupa home said: “We have taken immediate action to address the issues raised by the CQC. We have improved our incident analysis process, audited care plans and reviewed our records to ensure all staff have received up-to-date training.

“However, we are pleased that residents recognised our staff as kind, caring and compassionate. We are committed to making all the required improvements and meeting the standards."