- Homecare service
Forge House Care North Kent
Report from 28 May 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We carried out this comprehensive inspection between 7 July and 18 July 2025. This was the first inspection of this service since becoming a newly registered provider on 26 January 2023. Forge House Care North Kent is a supported living service. The service provides support to people with learning disabilities and autistic people. At the time of our inspection, there were 23 people receiving care and support across 16 different supported living homes.
We assessed the service against “Right care, right support, right culture” guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence, and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
We spoke with people who used the service, their relatives, staff, and the management team. We received feedback from professionals involved in the service. We reviewed people’s care records, and documents relating to the management of the service. We observed staff supporting people in communal areas.
Risks to people were managed effectively to reduce the likelihood of harm, and people were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Lessons were shared when things went wrong. There were enough staff to support people, and staff were supported to be effective in their role. Staff were trained and followed infection control procedures, and the health and safety of the environment was promoted.
People were supported to eat a balanced diet and drink enough to keep hydrated. People had access to the health care services they needed, and staff liaised effectively with other professionals to optimise people’s health and well-being. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible. The policies and systems in the service reflected this practice.
Staff were kind and caring. People were treated with dignity and respect and their independence promoted. People’s needs were assessed and planned for, and care plans detailed people’s individual needs and how to meet them. People’s end-of-life wishes were documented in their care plans.
Complaints were appropriately addressed in line with the provider’s procedure. There was visible leadership, and the service had effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.
People's experience of this service
People and their relatives were very positive about the quality of care at Forge House Care North Kent. People communicated that they were happy, felt safe, and understood their rights.
People communicated they received good quality care from staff who knew them well and treated them as individuals. Several relatives described how staff treated their loved ones kindly and made sure that personal care was done sensitively, preserving their privacy and dignity.
People communicated the service provided interesting activities to keep them physically and mentally active and showed us their weekly calendars with excitement.
People communicated they felt able to complain, and were confident action would be taken and improvements made. People knew staff and leaders well.