Cedar House Care Home

Updated 11 May 2023

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

An inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Cedar House 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. Cedar House 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The manager had applied to register and was awaiting a decision.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 5 October 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We also reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority. 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 7 people who lived at the home and 8 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 members of staff including the nominated individual, a newly employed manager; 1 care co-ordinator and 2 care workers. We also received email feedback from 5 staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We reviewed a range of records including care records and medicines records. We also reviewed 5 recruitment files and a range of other records related to the safety and management of the service.

Updated 11 May 2023

About the service

Cedar House Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 31 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service.

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

The new provider had developed a comprehensive action plan when they purchased the home, to which significant progress had been made. They had plans to address some outstanding issues, including improving the availability of activities and consistency of care staff. Some care plans and risk assessments lacked detail about people’s personalised care needs. Further improvement was needed to the culture of the home to improve staff morale and develop a positive ethos. A vision and values statement had been developed with opportunities for staff to contribute.

People were happy with the care they received and said they felt safe. The provider was confident staffing levels were at the correct level, some staff disagreed. We have made a recommendation about this. Safeguarding concerns were investigated and recommendations were implemented. Staff knew about the whistle blowing procedure and could raise concerns, if needed. Health and safety checks and risk assessments were carried out to keep people and the environment safe. Medicines were managed safely and staff followed good IPC practices.

Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink and to access health care appointments. Improvements were needed to ensure staff received regular formal supervision and a more in-depth induction programme. We have made a recommendation about this.

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.

Complaints were logged and investigated. There was a structured approach to quality assurance.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 16 February 2022 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 23 August 2018.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations in relation to staffing and inducting new staff.

Follow up

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