About the service: The Cedars Christian Residential Home is a residential care home that was providing personal care to 19 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were cared for by staff who were caring. Staff treated people with respect and valued them as an individual. People were treated as key to making decisions about their own care. People’s independence was encouraged and this had positive outcomes for people. People’s diverse needs had been respected by staff.

The provider and registered manager had developed a culture within the home that was inclusive, person centred and family orientated. The registered manager had worked in partnership with other agencies to improve people’s experience at the home and this had positive effects for people’s well being. The provider and registered manager had been proactive in their own learning and development and this had had a positive impact on the care provided to people.

People were kept safe by staff who knew how to manage risks to keep them safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff to support people and staff had been recruited safely. Medications were managed safely.

People were supported by staff who had received training relevant to their role. People had their rights upheld in line with Mental Capacity Act. People’s dietary needs were met and people were pleased with the meal choices available to them. People had access to healthcare services where required.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. People were able to take part in activities that met their individual interests. People had been informed how to complain if needed.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Report published 27 May 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.

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

This was an announced inspection which took place on 24 March 2016. The Cedars Christian Residential Home provides accommodation with personal care for 22 older people. At the time of this inspection 19 people were living at the home. At our last inspection in November 2013 the provider was compliant with the regulations we assessed.

There was a manager in post and she was present during our inspection. She had submitted her application to the Care Quality Commission to be the registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about

how the service is run.

People and their relatives were positive and enthusiastic about the quality of the care and we received a high level of praise from them about the home.

Staff knew how to support people safely and had training in how to recognise and report abuse.

People felt safe and risks to their safety had been identified. People and their relatives had no concerns about their family member’s day-to-day safety.

Staff were recruited in a safe way. There were enough trained and experienced staff to support people and meet their needs in a personalised manner.

People had their medicines when they needed them and the arrangements for the management of people’s medicines was safe.

Staff had good access to training, development opportunities and supervisions to enhance their skills in providing people with high quality care.

Care was focused on people’s individual needs and wishes and staff supported people’s rights, sought their consent and respected their choices.

People enjoyed the meals and we saw that risks to their dietary intake were known and staff supported people to eat and drink enough. People’s health was supported by access to appropriate healthcare professionals.

We saw people had positive relationships with staff and that staff were attentive, caring and showed compassion when supporting people. The staff were committed to a strong person centred culture which put people first.

People knew how to make a complaint and were confident this would be listened to and acted upon. People described the management of the home as very friendly and approachable. Staff felt supported by the provider who had used their audits and quality monitoring to develop the service and maintain high standards. The manager displayed a commitment to developing the staff team to ensure they could meet people’s needs in a proactive and caring manner.

On the day of our inspection there were 21 people living at The Cedars. We spoke with five members of staff, four people who used the service and two relatives. We looked at policies and processes, four care records and three staff records to gain an insight into the care provided.

We saw that people and their relatives were involved in decisions about the care provided and details of their needs and interests were included in their care records.

Care plans and risk assessments were in place and were updated regularly to ensure people received the care they needed. There were a variety of activities designed to meet people's needs and maintain their independence. People told us they liked living at The Cedars. One person told us, “I am so content to be here.”

People’s safety was protected because there were systems in place to report safeguarding concerns and staff received relevant training. People told us they were satisfied with the care provided and said they felt safe. One relative we spoke with told us, “It is so homely here.”

One relative told us that, “The staff are marvellous and always so cheerful.” Staff we spoke with said they enjoyed their work and that they were supported with relevant training and development to care for the people who used the service.

People experienced good quality care and effective systems for monitoring were in place. There was evidence that people and their families knew how to complain if things were not right.

We spoke with four people, two of their relatives, a visiting health professional, three members of staff and the registered manager.

During our inspection, we saw that staff treated people with respect and provided care and support in a friendly, engaging manner. People told us that staff maintained their privacy and dignity when providing care and discussing personal matters.

All of the people and relatives we spoke with were very complimentary about the home and the staff. One person said, “Its lovely here, the staff are brilliant. You can’t fault them.” Care was planned and delivered in a way that ensured people's safety and welfare. The members of staff we spoke with had a good understanding of people’s needs. The food was described by all people spoken with as being, “Excellent.”

We saw that the home was very clean, tidy and in an excellent state of repair and décor. Furnishings were comfortable. All of the people we spoke with told us that the home was a nice place to live.

We saw that suitable staff were being employed to provide care and support for people. All of the members of staff we spoke with were very complimentary about their workplace and their employer. One said, “I love it here. I’ve never worked anywhere like it.”

People told us they would feel confident to raise a complaint if they needed to. We looked at the complaint register and saw that there were none recorded since our last inspection.

People receive a good standard of care in a warm, homely environment. Both people and relatives we spoke to were very complementary about the staff and the care received. Comments included,"absolutely delighted with care" and "I am happy, I like everything about here". A range of activities are provided such as arm chair zumba, entertainers and in house knitting club, bingo and quizzes The staff are very dedicated and committed to people within the home. They are well trained and supported by the management team. There is a good system of quality monitoring in place to ensure the home is run in the best interests of people living there.