THE families of more than 20 people affected by dementia at a Burnley care home have been given four weeks to find new placements after it was announced a nursing unit is set to close.

Problems with recruiting specialist mental health nurses have been cited as the main reason behind Silk Healthcare opting to shut a dementia unit at Heather Grange, in Queens Road.

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Dementia experts have called on staff to deal with the 22 individuals sensitively, as they work with NHS Lancashire’s commissioning support unit to find new placements.

Martina Kane, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Having an environment that they are comfortable with, that they feel happy in, and feels like home, is incredibly important. To be moved out of that environment, and moved somewhere else, could be difficult and needs to be managed very carefully.”

The home, at the corner of Laurier Road and Bentham Avenue, was rated ‘good’ across all sections following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission in February.

Angela Swift, Silk’s managing director, said: “It is with great regret and after lengthy consideration that we have decided to de-register our dementia nursing suite and re-register this for dementia residential care.

“The remaining residential and dementia residential residents will not be affected.

“We always have in mind the welfare of our vulnerable elderly residents, whose wellbeing must be paramount.

“Due to a shortage of suitably qualified nurses, we have found it difficult to recruit suitable nursing staff needed to safeguard our residents.

“We are working closely with families and professionals to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible during this difficult time.”

Seventy jobs were created in late 2010 when Silk Healthcare opened the care home at the top of Queens Road, close to Burnley General Hospital. It is not believed that any positions will be lost as a result of the registration decision.

n According to the Alzheimer's Society there are around 800,000 people in the UK with dementia.

The number of people with dementia is increasing because people are living longer.