National Care Group Kent Head Office

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. The registered manager listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

Systems were in operation to record any accidents or incidents, and these were reviewed by the leadership team. Where necessary action was taken to learn lessons and prevent similar accidents or incidents occurring again. For example, staff enabled a local shopkeeper to understand the support a person needed when shopping. Strategies had been put in place to ensure shop staff were able to help the person and to prevent them becoming anxious.

The outcomes of investigations were considered at local risk and governance meetings, along with any patterns and trends and lessons learnt. This information was then considered by the provider to look for any national learning or trends. A review of incidents between July and September 2025 had noted a reduction in incidents. The reasons for this were noted including one person moving to live with people they got on with better. The provider had also noted, ‘Colleagues tend to over-report rather than under report. Debriefs are held after incidents and lessons learnt shared across both regions’.​

Leaders worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of support, in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of support, including when people moved between different services.

Effective systems were in place to share information with other services to ensure people received consistent support, including when people began to use the service. A relative told us, “When my relative was transitioning, staff came to my house to see how things were done. My relative has a shower routine and can do a lot independently. I’ve seen staff support them. It’s all done right”.

Systems were in operation to ensure staff always had up to date information about people. These included a verbal handover at the beginning of every shift, as well as electronic records. Staff told us they checked to see if there had been any changes since they had previously supported people.

Relatives told us effective systems were in operation to ensure people received consistent support when they spent time with their relatives. For example, one relative told us, “The service communicate well if my relative is anxious. They have a communication book which they fill in daily. It comes home to me so I can add to it while my relative is with us”.

Staff worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. Staff concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The staff shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

The registered manager had worked with the local authority to develop staff’s understanding of safeguarding. This included training to understand the roles of each organisation in the process including staffs’ responsibilities to identify and raise concerns and those of the police and local authority to investigate. A senior manager told us staff were understood, “If you don’t speak up, you are part of the problem”.

Staff knew how to identify signs of abuse and were confident to raise any concerns they had with a member of the leadership team. One staff member told us how they had witnessed another staff member behave in a bullying way towards a person. They told us “I was shocked and reported it. It wasn’t easy to do but I knew I had to and was supported to”. Leaders had shared any concerns with the local authority safeguarding team so they could be investigated. A relative told us, “My relative's safety is staffs’ priority. They have previously had quite bad mental health episodes. Staff help to keep them and others safe, including staying with them all night when they were unwell”.

People had been supported to understand what safe support looked like and had been empowered to have the confidence to raise any concerns they had about staff’s conduct. For example, a person had videoed a staff member asleep on duty when they should have been supporting the person. They had shown it to a senior manager, who had ensured the provider’s safeguarding and disciplinary processes were followed to keep the person and others safe. The person felt they had been listened to and were informed of the outcome of the investigation.

Staff worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided support to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.

Risks to people had been assessed and action had been planned to keep people safe whilst being as independent as possible. Staff followed detailed guidance around risk management, this included any support people needed to prepare meals and eat safely, and to stay safe when out and about. For example, staff reminded people to take any equipment they needed with them to stay well and checked people’s mobile phones were fully charged so they could call for help if they needed.

People explained how they were supported to live fulfilled lives and take risks to develop or maintain their independence. The registered manager and staff described a culture of positive risk taking, where people were supported to try new things and develop their independence. A staff member told us, A staff member told us, “We try to encourage and not de-skill people, so they can learn new skills”.

Staff detected and worked with landlords to control potential risks in people’s homes. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe support.

Staff had worked with landlords and occupational therapists when adaptions were needed to support people to remain at home. For example, changes had been made to bathroom suites to make them accessible as people’s physical health changed. People had been involved in choosing how they would like their homes decorated and some people had joined in with the decorating.

People and staff completed regular environmental audits to check their homes remained safe. These included fire alarm tests which were facilitated in a way that people learned from them and also enjoyed the experience. When maintenance was needed staff supported people to raise concerns with the landlord. Personal emergency evacuation plans had been agreed with people to support them to evacuate their home safely in an emergency. People took part in regular fire drills to develop their skills and confidence and reduce the risk of panic or anxiety in an emergency situation.

Landlords completed regular checks of the buildings to make sure they were safe. Some people had chosen to be part of this process and completed the checks alongside the landlord. They had developed knowledge about how to identify any concerns. Some people contacted the landlord directly about any maintenance issues and worked with them to rectify these. Other people preferred to inform staff and for staff to advocate for them.

The registered manager made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe support that met people’s individual needs.

The registered manager deployed enough staff to meet people’s needs and the support commissioned by the local authority. Where possible a team of staff worked with people to provide consistency, however there was flexibility to ensure unplanned absences were covered. Relatives told us people were supported by consistent staff teams, their comments included, “It’s the best care. My relative’s care is not rushed. Staff take their time” and “There’s not a large turnover of staff. The staff have been there ages”.

Staff had been recruited safely. Checks on their experience and conduct, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, were completed before staff worked with people. DBS checks provide information including details about convictions and cautions held on the Police National Computer.

Staff had been supported to develop the skills they needed to support people in the way they preferred. Staff completed an induction when they started working at the service and were supported to continue to develop in their roles to ensure they could meet people’s individual needs and preferences safely. When people wanted, they were enabled to take part in practical training with staff, including first aid, giving them the opportunity to develop their skills alongside staff.

Staff met with a manager every 3 months to discuss their practice, any challenges and their development needs. Staff told us they found the meetings supportive, their comments included, “I get 3 monthly supervision which is really helpful” and “I find I can say what I want and explain how I feel and if there are any problems and I can call anytime I need help”.

Leaders assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly.

People described to us how they worked with staff to keep their home clean and tidy. Relatives confirmed their loved one’s homes were clean. Staff told us they had the equipment needed to protect people from the risk of infection, including disposable gloves and aprons.

Staff knew about safe food handling and supported people to follow safe practices when preparing their meals. Staff, and people who wanted, had completed training together and were awarded certificates to demonstrate their competence. Food hygiene audits were completed to check standards were maintained and food was stored and prepared safely.

Any infection hazards had been recognised and action had been taken to mitigate the risk of them spreading. Risks had been assessed and staff followed good practice guidance. Staff and people had been offered the opportunity to have vaccinations, such as COVID-19 and flu to keep them as well as possible.

Leaders made sure that medicines were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Staff involved people in planning, including when changes happened. Relatives told us staff knew they signs people were in pain and offered they pain relief, which had been effective.

Staff supported people to manage their medicines as independently as possible. Some people used dosset boxes filled by the pharmacy to remind them what medicines to take and when. Staff supported other people to take their medicines and described how people took their medicines in their bedrooms as this was their personal space. People retained the right not to take their medicines if they did not want to. Staff told us people had routines and it was rare for a medicine not to be taken.

Clear records were maintained showing when staff had supported people. Processes were in place to make sure people ordered their medicines in good time and had their medicines when they were away from home, such as on holiday or visiting relatives. Staff had completed medicines optimisation training and their competence to manage medicines safely had been assessed and was kept under review.

People’s medicines were reviewed each year or when their needs changed, with their GP to make sure they remained necessary and effective. A further review had been booked for one person to check the changes in their medicines had been effective.