Cedar Mews

Cedar Mews is a residential care home providing accommodation for people who require personal and nursing care for up to 73 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia, people with a physical disability and younger adults. At the time of our inspection there were 71 people using the service.

Cedar Mews was purpose built. Communal facilities, assisted toilets, bathing facilities, and bedrooms with en-suite facilities were sited over 3 floors, known as Rosemary Walk, Lavender Lane and Cinnamon Way. The home has an accessible garden, which included seating.

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

People’s safety was underpinned by the provider’s policies and processes. Potential risks to people were assessed and measures put in place to reduce these. Lessons were learnt, supported by clinical risk meetings and reflective practice for staff. Medicines were managed safely following recent changes to some aspects of medicine administration. People lived in an environment which was well maintained and clean, with safe infection and prevention measures.

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 involved in key decisions about their day to day lives, and chose how they spent their day, which included their involvement in recreational activities.

People’s health and wellbeing needs were assessed, and their health and welfare monitored by staff. Staff liaised effectively with health care professionals to achieve good outcomes for people. Staff had the knowledge and experience to meet people’s needs. People’s dietary needs were met, assisted by staff’s commitment to create an enjoyable dining experience for people.

The provider had systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided, and worked collaboratively with partner agencies to bring about improvements. Staff spoke positively of the management team, and of the collective approach to continually improve the service.

People and family members were complimentary about the service, and spoke positively of the friendly atmosphere at Cedar Mews. External professionals provided positive feedback about the quality of the care people received, and the knowledge and commitment of staff in meeting people’s needs.

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 the service under the previous provider was good, published on 22 November 2017.

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.

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 Mews on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

This residential care home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 72 people. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people living in the home. Cedar Mews provides both respite and long-term care for older people, some of whom are living with dementia.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safeguarded from harm as the provider had effective systems in place to prevent, recognise and report concerns to the relevant authorities. Staff knew how to recognise harm and were knowledgeable about the steps they should take if they were concerned that someone may be at risk.

Staff knew their responsibilities as defined by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and had applied that knowledge appropriately. Staff understood the importance of obtaining people’s consent when supporting them with their daily living needs. People experienced caring relationships with staff and good interaction was evident, as staff took time to listen and understand what people needed.

There were sufficient numbers of experienced staff that were supported to carry out their roles to meet the assessed needs of people living at the home. Staff received training in areas that enabled them to understand and meet the care needs of each person. Recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the role.

People’s care and support needs were continually monitored and reviewed to ensure that care was provided in the way that they needed. People or their representative had been involved in planning and reviewing their care and plans of care were in place to guide staff in delivering their care and support.

People’s health and well-being was monitored by staff and they were supported to access health professionals in a timely manner when they needed to. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink to maintain a balanced diet.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

People’s needs were met in line with their individual care plans and assessed needs. Staff took time to get to know people and ensured that people’s care was tailored to their individual needs.

Staff responded to complaints promptly and in line with the provider’s policy. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to and acted upon.

People were supported by a team of staff that had the managerial guidance and support they needed to carry out their roles. The quality of the service was monitored through the regular audits carried out by the management team and provider.