About the service: True Quality Services Ltd – West London is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. They aim to provide a service to people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, acquired brain injuries and health issues relating to the progression of age.

The agency had provided care to three people. However, at the time of our inspection they were providing the regulated activity of personal care to only one person. This means that we were unable to judge in detail whether this agency was meeting the regulations and providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led care to people. Consequently, we could not rate the quality of the service as we had insufficient evidence on which to do so. The provider was able to show us their policies and procedures and some care documents but we require a wider range of information before we can rate this service.

People’s experience of using this service:

At the time of our visit the agency was at the early stages of their development. In the Providers Information Return (PIR) document the registered manager informed us that the agency was committed to providing person centred care to all people they would support. They aimed to promote a culture which encouraged staff to provide high quality care across the service.

The agency helped to protect people from harm. There were appropriate safeguarding procedures in place. These included safeguarding training for staff and discussions about safeguarding in staff supervision and team meetings.

People received support with medicines when needed. We noted that Medicines Administration Records (MAR) did not have details of medicines people were receiving. This information had been recorded in care plans. The quality assurance officer said this would be addressed.

We saw that the person receiving the service had had their needs assessed before the agency started supporting them. There was an individual care plan that reflected their wishes, preferences, and considered their cultural, religious or social requirements. Information about people’s communication preferences had been recorded in their files. The agency had taken these into consideration when matching people using the service and staff who supported them. We noted that care plans we saw would benefit from more detailed information on how this support should be provided. The Quality Assurance Officer assured us this would be looked into.

Risk to people’s health and wellbeing had been assessed and recorded in their files. Staff received training in infection control and they were provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid the spread of inspection. There was an accident and incident policy to guide staff on how to report and record any accidents or incidents. Appropriate recruitment procedure helped to protect people from unsuitable staff.

Staff received support to help them to care for people effectively. This included induction to the service and a care worker’s role and mandatory training. Staff received regular supervision, appraisal of their skills and were invited to participate in staff meetings.

The agency assisted staff to promote inclusion, did not condone discrimination of any form and to provide better care to people. Staff received training in the following areas. Person centred care, dementia awareness, communication and dignity and respect. The agency had an equality and diversity policy which highlight that all individuals accessing the agency would be equally accepted and respected.

The agency had provided some support with food and fluid. This consisted of warming up and serving pre-prepared food. People’s dietary needs and preferences were recorded in their files.

The agency sought consent before providing care to people.

People were encouraged to give feedback about the service provided. This could be done via the provider’s complaint policy as well as thro