Cedar Road

Updated 2 June 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Cedar Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the nominated individual are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who regularly visit the service. The provider had completed a provider information return on 07 June 2021. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We also reviewed complaints, compliments and surveys, which gave us further insight into the quality of people's care and what it was like to live or work at Cedar Road. We also spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, the deputy manager, and five care workers.

We also spoke with the Operations Manager. The Operations manager supports the registered manager to manage the home.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. The registered manager sent us additional information including people’s individual stories and activities which were specifically designed to support people manage the concerns around COVID-19 and the sense of isolation. We spoke with one healthcare professional who regularly visits the service and one person’s social worker.

Updated 2 June 2022

About the service

Cedar Road is a residential care home providing personal care for up to nine people, some of whom are living with an acquired brain injury. At the time of inspection seven people were living in the home.

Cedar Road accommodates people in one adapted building. The home has a ‘training kitchen’ adapted for use with wheelchairs and a communal seating/dining area. People had en-suite bedrooms. There are usually five or six staff on day shifts including a senior care worker, care workers, and the registered manager. Nights are covered by two staff with management on-call as required.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff used handover notes to record the contact and support given to people. This meant that staff coming onto the shift had access to up to date information about the care and support provided. Care plans and risk assessments identified people's support needs and staff had a good understanding of the support people needed.

Medication audits were regularly completed, however we found inconsistencies in how, ‘As and when required’ medication (PRN) was given.

Feedback about the service, from people who lived at the home and those close to them, as well as professionals was mostly consistent and positive. However, some people told us that they were not happy with the quality of food available in the home.

Infection Controls were not always in strict accordance with good hygiene practices.

Leadership decisions about encouraging independence meant that people were encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves to promote independence. We saw a training kitchen which had been designed specifically for people living at the home and equipment that raised and lowered to accommodate wheelchair access. People and their relatives were encouraged to be involved in care planning and reviews.

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

People were treated with kindness and compassion. People felt well-supported. People were listened to and could express their views. People's privacy and dignity was maintained.

People, relatives and staff expressed confidence in the registered manager, and were given the opportunity to provide feedback. Audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

People, staff and relatives knew how to complain. The registered manager and nominated individual understood their responsibilities under the duty of candour.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This service was registered with us on 7 August 2014. .

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 11 August 2015).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to complaints made to the CQC. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe, Effective and well-led only. The complaints focussed upon a lack of care within the home as well as allegations regarding Safeguarding.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained Good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cedar Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.