CARE watchdogs have ordered a Silsden nursing home to make urgent improvements or face further action.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said action must be taken at Spring Bank Nursing Home to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents.

The order was made this week against Diane Hudson, who was named as being responsible for the Howden Road facility.

Mrs Hudson responded she had taken the inspectors’ concerns very seriously and was making swift improvements in several areas.

During an unannounced inspection in June this year, a CQC team found the home was failing to provide care that was safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs or well-led.

The home was given a rating of ‘inadequate’ by the CQC, which highlighted several areas of concern.

These included a shortage of qualified, skilled and experienced nursing staff; induction, training and supervision of staff not being thorough; care and treatment that did not always reflect residents’ preferences; and lack of protection against the risks of unsafe use and management of medicines.

Inspectors said standards of cleanliness had deteriorated since the last inspection in November 2014. Some parts of the home were visibly dirty and had an unpleasant odour, and areas of the premises were unsafe due to poor maintenance.

In a statement issued to the Craven Herald, Mrs Hudson said: “We have taken the areas of concern very seriously and understand the need to improve quickly.

“We are actively recruiting nursing staff and working closely with other agencies to maintain continuity. The home has had a deep clean and a full-time housekeeper has been employed. A refurbishment programme is being implemented. We are improving our induction training and supervision for all staff.

“We have also had an overhaul of our risk assessments and the monitoring of our services to ensure our residents remain safe and well cared for.”

Debbie Westhead, the CQC’s deputy chief inspector of adult social care in the North, said some improvements had been made since the previous inspection.

But she added: “We also found a number of continued concerns and examples of poor care practices. It is unacceptable the provider has allowed the service to deteriorate in this way.

“We have been working closely with the local authority to ensure residents are not at risk. We have placed this service in special measures and made it clear where action must be taken to address the concerns identified.”

Spring Bank Nursing Home will be re-inspected within six months.