This announced inspection took place on 13 March 2018. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice of the visit because the location provides support and personal care to people living in their own homes and we wanted to make sure that the registered provider was available.

We last inspected this service on 31 October 2015 at a different location. We asked the provider to take action to make improvements in staff training and the recruitment of staff. The provider sent us an action plan and we saw these actions had been completed. We did not find any statutory breaches of the regulations at this most recent inspection of 13 March 2018. This was the first inspection at the office base in Milnthorpe.

True Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. At the time of our visit they were supporting around 20 people living in and around the rural areas near to the town Kendal.

Not everyone using True Care receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service was managed by the registered provider (provider) who was the registered person for True Care. 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.

People told us staff were friendly, kind and caring and people valued the service they received. Privacy and dignity were respected and promoted by the care staff.

People felt safe when receiving care and support from staff. Staff knew how to recognise and report potential safeguarding issues and they received appropriate training in this area. Staff were safely recruited having all the appropriate checks to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

Risk assessments were in place to protect people from risks that enabled them to safely carry on their day to day lives.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

We made recommendation that about making sure the service records people’s capacity to make decisions and who, if anybody, had authority to do this on their behalf.

People were included in planning and agreeing to the care they received. They could ask for changes to their planned care and the service agreed to these where possible.

We made a recommendation about going into more detail when assessing the needs of new people to make sure the service can fully meet their needs.

Staffing levels were sufficient to ensure people received standards of care that enhanced their welfare, safety and day to day living.

The care staff were well trained and supported to be able to provide the care people needed, and specialist training was given to staff to meet people’s individual support needs. Staff received comprehensive induction when they first started work at the service and received on-going supervision and an annual appraisal of their performance.

The service had developed good links with healthcare and social care professionals to support people with their health and well-being. Medicines were handled safely and people received support with their medicines as they needed. People received the support they needed to prepare meals and drinks.

People felt able and knew how to make complaints. Where issues had been highlighted by people we saw the provider had taken action to address these.

The provider had made significant investments in improving the service, both in the delivery of care and in obtaining a more professional office base. The way in which the service was checked by the provide