We inspected the HF Trust – Kent North DCA on 13, 16, 17 and 19 July 2018. The inspection was announced. This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older people and younger adults who have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection visit there were 47 people receiving support from the service. These people lived at five addresses some of which were divided into flats while others were shared living arrangements. All of the people held tenancies.

This was our first inspection since the service was registered on 20 October 2016.

The service was run by a company who was the registered provider. There was a registered manager who is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run. In this report when we speak about both the company and the registered manager, we refer to them as being, ‘the registered persons’.

We found one breach of the regulations. This was because the registered provider had failed to suitably tell us about an occasion on which a person may have been placed at risk of experiencing abuse. You can find out what action we have told the registered provider to take at the end of the full version of this report.

Our other findings were as follows: Background checks had not always been completed in the right way before new care staff had been appointed. Although in practice there were enough care staff on duty, the registered persons did not operate robust systems to ensure that this remained the case. People were safeguarded from situations in which they may be at risk of experiencing abuse. People received safe care and treatment and they had been helped to avoid preventable accidents while their freedom was respected. Medicines were managed safely. Suitable arrangements were in place to prevent and control infection. Lessons had been learned when things had gone wrong.

Care was delivered in a way that promoted positive outcomes for people and care staff had the knowledge and skills they needed to provide support in line with legislation and guidance. This included respecting people’s citizenship rights under the Equality Act 2010. People were supported to eat and drink enough to have a balanced diet to promote their good health. Suitable steps had been taken to ensure that people received coordinated support when they used or moved between different services. People had been supported to access any healthcare services they needed. People had been helped to liaise with their landlords so that their homes were well maintained.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. In addition, the registered persons had taken the necessary steps to ensure that people only received lawful care that was the least restrictive possible.

People were treated with kindness and they were given emotional support when needed. They had also been helped to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care as far as possible. This included them having access to lay advocates if necessary. Confidential information was kept private.

People received person-centred care that promoted their independence. This included them having access to information that was presented to them in an accessible way. People were given opportunities to pursue their hobbies and interests. The registered manager and care staff recognised the importance of promoting equality and diversity. This included appropriately supporting people if they adopted gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex life-course identities. Suitable arrangements were in place to resolve complaints in order to improve the quality of care. People were supported t