27 April 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The Cedars Nursing Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care to for up to 40 people. At the start of the inspection 28 people aged both under and 65 years old were living at the home at the end of the inspection 26 people lived in the home. The home consists of an adapted building with a purpose-built extension.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Risks to people’s safety were not always monitored or reviewed. People told us their care needs were not met in a timely way. People were not always supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to do so. People who needed support to eat and drink were at risk of dehydration and malnutrition as records did not clearly demonstrate that people had sufficient amounts to eat and drink. People’s medicines were not always managed in a safe way. People were not protected from the risk of cross infection. Staff did not always recognise different types of abuse and how to report it. The provider could not be assured the staff group had sufficient knowledge and skills to support people.
The provider had inadequate systems in place to monitor and review the service provision. The provider had failed to sustain improvements of the service. This is the second time in two years the service has been placed into special measures. The leadership at provider level and management level within the home was unstable and lacked consistency. Staff morale was low and staff did not feel supported by the provider to fulfil their role to provide good quality care for people. The provider had hired an interim manager to oversee the service and ensure people’s safety, until a permanent manager could be recruited.
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 requires improvement (19 March 2020).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to standards of care and staffing levels. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
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.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe and Well-Led sections of this full report.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified breaches in relation to people’s safety and the leadership of the service at this inspection. You can see what enforcement action we have taken at the end of this report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Cedars Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.