THE Care Quality Commission has rated the Furlong Close site at Rowde as 'Inadequate' and has put it into special measures.

The site - which is threatened with closure - is owned and run by Hft and is home to 32 residents.

Hft chief executive Kirsty Matthews said: "We take the issues raised very seriously and have taken immediate action to address them.

"Regrettably, the CQC's most recent inspection report and inadequate rating highlights several areas of concern where our care and support fell below the standards we set ourselves and those set by our regulator.

"We would like to unreservedly apologise for this.

"A full review is under way which will identify and drive actions for improvement."

Wiltshire Council said it was "extremely disappointed" with the healthcare regulator's judgement.

The council will work closely with families of residents at Furlong Close to consider future options after CQC inspectors visited the site recently and judged services provided by Hft at the site as Inadequate.

It said that Hft owns the site and delivers the care, so it will now need to respond to the report.

The council funds 19 residents at Furlong Close, with 13 other residents funded by 12 other local authorities.

The CQC is the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England. Inspectors visited in July and in a recent report gave an overall rating of Inadequate.

The CQC arrived at the judgement after inspecting the safety of the service provided, whether it was effective, and if it was well led.

Lucy Townsend, corporate director of people at Wiltshire Council said: "We are extremely disappointed with the Inadequate judgement at Furlong Close and Hft, as owners of the site and caregivers, will now need to urgently respond to this report.

"This is a very serious matter and we will be talking to our residents and their families about the implications of this report and what this means for residents.

“As always our priority is to ensure residents are safe and well, and provided with appropriate care and support.

"It isn’t appropriate to speculate about the future at this stage– our foremost concern is for the residents and to ensure they receive the care and support they need as we explore all viable options.”

For several months Furlong Close has faced an uncertain future after Hft announced it was pulling out of its contract with Wiltshire Council.

But a tender operation to find a new operator has ended unsuccessfully leaving residents fearful about its long-term future.

Hft has said it will continue to provide care until a new operator is found but said it was waiting to hear from the council about its next steps.