A NURSING home has been closed after putting residents 'at risk of harm' and not maintaining people's 'privacy and dignity'.

The owners of Lymewood Nursing Home in Uplyme have shut down the home after inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the home as 'inadequate' and placed it in 'special measures'.

All former residents of the home have been moved to alternative accommodation.

The home has been subject of a multi-agency safeguarding process since August, including the CQC and Devon County Council.

The CQC found that the home did not have a registered manager after a long-serving manager cancelled their CQC registration in May. A new manager was appointed and had been working with the home for two weeks prior to the final inspection.

In the CQC report issued last week, the home was rated 'inadequate' for safety, offering a caring service and a well-led service - while it was marked as 'requiring improvement' for offering an effective and a responsive service.

Inspectors visited Lymewood Nursing Home four times over the summer, at which point there were 30 residents staying at the home.

The report says: "Management and staff in the service had not recognised safeguarding issues and had not made referrals to the appropriate agencies. This had left people at risk, and had not protected them from harm.

"People's health, safety and welfare were put at risk because there were not always sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff on duty at all times."

The inspectors also found that people were not always protected against the risks associated with medicines and that some staff members did not have any 'particular skill with people with dementia' despite the majority of residents suffering from dementia or mental health problems.

Two people had not been given their prescribed medicines, putting them 'at risk of harm'.

There was also a 'lack of stimulation' for residents and records were not consistently maintained. Insufficient staff levels meant that 'some people had not received assistance to shower of bathe for the months of June 2015 and July 2015'.

"A lack of positive interaction and communication from staff towards people when providing support was observed," added the inspectors.

"We saw instances where people's privacy and dignity was not maintained."

A family member of a resident who died at the home said they were 'very pleased with the end of life support' given by the staff.

The management at Lymewood Nursing Home could not be reached when contacted by the Bridport and Lyme Regis News.

A spokesman for Devon County Council said: “Lymewood Nursing Home in Uplyme has been the subject of a multi-agency safeguarding process since August.

“It followed concerns from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regarding the quality of care being provided at the home.

“Devon and Dorset Councils and health authorities worked with the home’s owners to assist them in addressing CQC’s concerns, but the home’s owner subsequently made a decision to close the home.

“Working with residents, their families or representatives, all of the former residents have since moved to suitable alternative accommodation that meets their individual care needs and preferences.”