Cedars Care Home

Updated 27 September 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Cedars Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Cedars Care Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a manager in post who was in the process of registering with us.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two visiting healthcare professionals and eight staff, including the manager, director, support workers and maintenance staff. We spoke with 10 people who used the service and five relatives. We reviewed a range of records including three medicines records, three care records and risk assessments. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 27 September 2022

About the service

Cedars Care Home is a residential care home providing support to older people and people living with Dementia. It consists of two buildings known as Cedars Lodge and Cedars House and can accommodate up to 66 people. At the time of our inspection there were 60 people using the service.

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

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. However, people, relatives and staff told us staff lacked time to provide meaningful activities. We have made a recommendation the service assesses how staff are deployed.

Infection prevention and control measures were in place. People were protected from the risk of harm; staff were aware of how to report concerns and told us they felt comfortable to do so. Risk assessments were in place and detailed how to keep people safe and regular checks were carried out on the environment and equipment. Medicines were safely managed, and people were receiving their medicines as prescribed. Incidents and accidents were monitored and shared with the senior management team, any actions required were identified and action taken to mitigate future risk.

People’s care plans were detailed, and person centred. The manager understood their role and responsibilities and there was an open and honest culture in the service. People were involved in decisions, regular meetings took place to gain feedback from people, relatives and staff The manager and staff worked in partnership with other healthcare professionals to ensure people received appropriate care and support. Auditing systems were in place and action was taken to ensure the management team continuously assesses and seeks to improve.

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

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 27 May 2021)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We received concerns in relation to staffing and people’s care needs. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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.

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

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation that the provider ensures suitable staff are deployed to meet people’s needs.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.