A care home described as "inadequate" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been told to make improvements or risk closure.

Jaden House, which supports people with autism and learning disabilities, has been handed the lowest possible rating by the watchdog.

But the Totton home is disputing some of the CQC's findings and has lodged an appeal against "factual inaccuracies" in the report.

The report, which outlines what the inspectors found when they visited the facility, says: "People were not always protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm.

"The provider had a safeguarding policy and procedure, but this was not always followed.

"We saw multiple incidents not identified or reported as potential safeguarding concerns. Following an incident where one person was assaulted, the provider failed to report to the relevant agencies and safeguard the person effectively.

"The provider did not always take sufficient action to safeguard people following allegations of abuse.

"When a person had reported an allegation of abuse against a staff member, they were still permitted to work with the person on a 1:1 basis and a thorough investigation into the incident had not taken place.

"The provider didn't always take sufficient action to protect people from self-neglect and harm.

"Risk assessments were not always in place or did not provide enough detail. People were at risk of harm because staff did not always have the information they needed to support people safely."

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The report says the provider must make major improvements within six months of the inspection or risk cancellation of its registration.

Run by the Turning Point Project, Jaden House was inspected by the CQC in October last year, when five people were using the service.

It was rated "Outstanding" in terms of being caring and "Good" in two other categories, but received an overall rating of "Inadequate".

Rebecca Mason-Desave, director of operations, conceded that changes were needed to bring written policies and procedures in line with current CQC requirements.

But she added: "These discrepancies did not put service users in danger of harm to themselves or others, nor were they at risk of abuse which the wording of the report may suggest."

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The Turning Point Project would continue to work with unique individuals whose support needs "do not always fit nicely within the brackets set out by CQC".

"The Project has been working tirelessly with CQC and local authorities since October's inspection to ensure policy and procedure documentation is brought up to date and in line with current legislation.

"We have however requested another inspection from CQC and have appealed the report's findings.”