Cedar Lodge

Updated 19 May 2026

Date of assessment: 25 June – 24 July 2026.

Cedar Lodge is a residential service providing support to older people and younger adults living with dementia and mental health conditions. The registration also includes The Limes which is a purpose-built recovery and rehabilitation centre adjoining Cedar Lodge. The Limes provides support for up to 15 people with a range of mental health conditions. At the time of our assessment the service was supporting 36 people in Cedar Lodge and 14 people in The Limes.

Risks to people were not always assessed, monitored or managed effectively, and lessons were not always learnt. Care plans and risk assessments lacked information to guide and inform staff about safe and effective care and were not always being followed by staff. This placed people at risk of harm.

People lived in a home where regular checks were completed to ensure the safety of the environment. However, actions identified during these checks were not always actioned in a timely way. During the assessment we identified concerns relating to fire safety that placed people at risk. We raised these concerns with the local fire service.The provider had a service action plan in place prior to our assessment, this identified areas of improvement to the environment. The provider told us the identified work had been scheduled for completion.

People’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act were not fully upheld and although people received their medicines as prescribed, improvement was needed with medicine records.

Staff did their best to support people and we observed caring interactions taking place between staff and people; however, feedback from people, families and staff highlighted shortfalls in staffing levels throughout the service.

We received mixed feedback from professionals about how well the home worked with external health and social care professionals to support positive outcomes. While some professionals identified areas where partnership working could be improved, others spoke positively about their experience of working with the home.

Governance arrangements were not effective and did not ensure risks were consistently identified or addressed. Leaders were approachable and staff spoke positively about working at the service; however, improvements were required to ensure that systems and processes were consistently effective in monitoring care and driving improvement. The provider and manager were responsive to feedback and took some immediate actions to address the safety concerns we raised during our assessment.

The provider was in breach of legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, premises and equipment and good governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to some of the concerns found at this assessment.

Staff promoted independence, choice, communication and meaningful activity. People and relatives were involved in decisions about their care and consistently reported that their family members had a good quality of life. Staff received training, and most staff felt supported and treated equally.

Updated 19 May 2026

People told us they felt safe living in the service. Comments included, “It is very good generally all round, if you have a problem, you just have to ask" and “I’m quite happy here. I am quite content. The staff are good, every one of them. I had a late breakfast today as I slept on, they look after us really well. I would certainly recommend this place.” Another person told us the best thing about the home was the safety and continuity and told us nothing could be improved as “I have had no problems or issues of any sort.”

People and relatives were mostly positive about management and staff. Comments included, “The staff are very helpful”, “The staff are amazing”, "I can talk to all the staff. They are all lovely, all nice, he’s content being there" and "I think [manager] is managing the home well. If I had an issue I would speak to [manager] or [deputy]. I have no complaints.”

Most people and relatives told us they felt involved. Comments included, "I have met [manager] at the resident and family meeting, where they told us what they are doing and what they intends to do, I was very impressed", "I have attended the resident and family meeting, the manager knew an awful lot of what’s going on" and "If anything happens, they ring me, they tell me what’s going on. If I had a concern, I would speak to a senior carer.”

We received mixed views about staffing levels in the home. Some people and relatives said the numbers of staff available were sufficient, others were concerned more staff were needed. Comments included, "The girls are lovely, I don’t think that there is enough staff, they are always short of staff", “There is adequate staffing” and “There doesn’t seem to be enough staff to take us out into the garden.”

People felt they had autonomy over their routines and described being able to make day-to-day choices about their care and routines, including when to get up and how to spend their time. Comments included, “I can choose when I go to bed and get up” and “He chooses when he wants to go to bed, he told me today that he went to bed at 11.00 p.m. last night.”

People told us activities were available. Comments included, “I enjoy the activities with balls and bats” and “They ask him if he would like to be included in the activities.”

People praised the food quality and choice. Comments included, "The food is alright, we get enough, there are always snacks” and "We have a menu with choices."

Some people raised concerns regarding clothing being misplaced or poorly maintained.

Some people could not verbally share their experiences of care. We used observation, to understand people’s experiences. These observations showed people were treated with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect. However, 1 person told us some staff were "blunt and domineering" and told us they felt rushed by staff.