Archived: Cedarfoss House

Updated 25 April 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the registered provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection that took place on 8 and 10 March 2017 and was unannounced. That means the registered provider did not know we would be inspecting. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

Before this inspection we reviewed the information we held about the home, such as information we had received from the local authority and notifications we had received from the registered provider. Notifications are documents that the registered provider submits to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to inform us of important events that happen in the service. We received feedback from two of the health care professionals we contacted. The registered provider was asked to submit a provider information return (PIR) before this inspection. The PIR is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The PIR was submitted within the required timescale.

On the day of the inspection we chatted to three people who lived at the home and also carried out observations using the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not communicate with us. We spoke with a health care professional, a team leader and the registered manager. We looked around communal areas of the home and some bedrooms, with people’s permission. We also spent time looking at records, which included the care records for two people who lived at the home, the recruitment and training records for two members of staff and other records relating to the management of the home, such as quality assurance, staff training, health and safety and medication. On 10 March 2017 we spoke with two members of staff and two relatives over the telephone to gain their feedback.

Updated 25 April 2017

Cedarfoss House is a care home for up to 18 people with a learning disability or with autistic spectrum disorder. The home provides support and residential care. There are two floors and bedrooms are located on both floors. People who live on the first floor need to be able to use the stairs as there is no passenger lift. On the day of the inspection there were 13 people living at the home and one person having respite care.

At the last inspection in January 2015, the service was rated as Good. At this inspection we found that the service remained Good.

There continued to be sufficient numbers of staff employed to make sure people received the support they needed, and those staff had been safely recruited. People indicated to us they felt safe living at the home.

Staff had continued to receive appropriate training to give them the knowledge and skills they required to carry out their roles. This included training on the administration of medicines and on how to protect people from the risk of harm.

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

Staff were kind, caring, compassionate and patient. They respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged them to be as independent as possible.

Care planning described the person and the level of support they required. Care plans were reviewed regularly to ensure they remained an accurate record of the person and their day to day needs.

People’s relatives told us they were aware of how to express concerns or make complaints, but they had not needed to make any complaints. People were also given the opportunity to feedback their views of the service provided.

The registered manager continued to lead the team with a positive and pro-active style of management, and they went ‘over and above’ their duties and responsibilities. They provided us with a variety of evidence to demonstrate that leadership at the home continued to be ‘outstanding’.

The registered manager carried out audits to ensure people were receiving the care and support that they required, and to monitor that staff were following the policies, procedures and systems in place.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.