This was an announced inspection that took place on 15 March 2017.

Youth Graces UK Limited is a domiciliary care service that provides a service for people in the London boroughs of Southwark. Lambeth and Bexley. The services offered include domestic and personal care, escort services, reablement and end of life care. The office is located in Beckenham.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

This is the first inspection since the agency moved premises.

People were satisfied with the agency and service it provided. They were given notice of any changes to staff and the timing of their care, unless it was unavoidable short notice. The agreed tasks were carried out to their satisfaction and the staff team were thoughtful and really cared. People thought the service provided was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

People’s records, those of staff and other records were kept up to date and covered all aspects of the care and support people received, their choices and identified that their needs were met. Information was clearly recorded, fully completed, and regularly reviewed enabling staff to perform their duties to a high standard.

Staff spoken with were knowledgeable about the people they gave support to and the way people liked to receive support. When required they also worked well as a team, in instances such as calls that may require two staff members. The care and support staff provided was delivered in a professional and friendly way that was focussed on the individual. Their attitude made them approachable and accessible to people using the service and their relatives and they had appropriate skills to achieve this.

People who use the service and parents of younger adults said the manager, management team and organisation were very accessible, supportive, responsive, encouraged feedback and selected and provided a high calibre of staff that were well trained and gave an excellent quality of service. Staff said that they received excellent support and training from the manager and organisation, the organisation was a great place to work and they got a lot of satisfaction from the job they did. They said the management team was approachable, receptive to their ideas and there were opportunities for career advancement. The organisation also provided a number of support services in the community for people with dementia, carers and children.

People using the service and parents were encouraged to discuss health and other needs with staff and had agreed information passed on to GP’s and other community based health professionals, as appropriate. People were protected by staff from nutrition and hydration associated risks by them giving advice about healthy food options and balanced diets whilst still making sure people’s meal likes, dislikes and preferences were met.

The agency staff were familiar with the Mental Capacity Act and their responsibilities regarding it.

The manager, management team, office staff and organisation frequently monitored and assessed the quality of the service provided.