The Cedars Nursing Home

Updated 19 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

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

The Cedars Nursing 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. The Cedars Nursing Home is a care home with 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 a registered manager in post.

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 and safeguarding teams 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 7 people about their experience of the care provided. 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 spoke with 9 staff including the registered manager, clinical lead, registered nurses, housekeeping, health care assistants and administrative staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care and medication records. We looked at recruitment documents for 3 staff. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures and contingency plans were reviewed.

Updated 19 May 2023

About the service

The Cedars Nursing Home is a purpose-built care home registered to provide personal and nursing care for to up to 31 people. The home is situated in the town of Shaftesbury, Dorset. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service.

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

The Cedars Nursing Home was a safe service. Policies and procedures in place ensured the home operated consistently and people told us they felt happy and secure. There were enough staff on duty who had been recruited through a robust process. Staff received a thorough induction to the home, and this included agency and bank staff. Clinical skills and processes were under continual review. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from harm and abuse and processes showed the correct processes had been followed to highlight concerns.

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 received their medicines as prescribed and people’s more complex nursing needs were managed well, such as, wound care and long-term medical conditions. The home had good working relationships and clear channels of referral to a variety of health and social care professionals.

Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed thoroughly and clear instructions meant staff were working in safe ways. People were protected from avoidable infections as the home was clean and staff had good hygiene practices. Accidents and incidents were recorded and used to identify lessons learned, these were shared with the staff team.

Governance and leadership was strong within the home. Continual monitoring and improvement through audits took place to ensure the home operated effectively and people were safe. Staff were proud to work at The Cedars Nursing Home and were positive about the management of the home. People told us they felt part of the home, their views mattered, and regular surveys ensured changes were implemented.

The registered manager understood their statutory requirements and all notifications had been made to CQC as required by law. The registered manager told us to work in an open and transparent way was important to them.

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 19 July 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

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 at good based on the findings of this inspection.

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.

Follow up

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