The inspection took place on 31 October 2017 and was announced. This was because the service provides support to people in their own home and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to support the inspection. This was the first inspection of the service at its current location.

Not everyone using Cedar House receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, two people were receiving support with personal care.

There was a registered manager for the service. 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.’

Cedar house is a service based on the teachings of Christian Science. People using the service were established members of the organisation.

People using the service chose not to speak to us to give their feedback. However it was clear from the service’s own quality monitoring that people were happy with the service they received.

The service was safe. Any risks associated with people’s care were highlighted in their care plans, this included an assessment of the environment. The registered manager was the only member of staff carrying out visits at the time of our inspection; it was clear that checks had been carried out on them to ensure they were safe to attend to people in their home. This included a disclosure and barring service check. They had completed safeguarding vulnerable adults training and understood the process to follow if they were concerned about a person’s wellbeing.

The registered manager had completed training to enable them to practice as a Christian Science Nurse and in addition to this had completed training relevant to their role, including moving and handling and mental capacity act. They were supervised by other members of the Christian Science organisation.

People had clear support plans in place and it was evident these had been produced with people’s full involvement. They were reviewed regularly to ensure they were reflective of people’s current needs. There was a system in place to manage complaints and people were made aware of organisations they could contact if they wanted to raise concerns.

The service was well led. The registered manager received support from the wider organisation. They understood the responsibilities of their role.