The Cedars is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to six people. People who use the service may have a learning disability or mental health needs. At the time of the inspection, six people were living in the home but not everyone using The Cedars received a 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.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

At our last inspection we rated the service good with requires improvement in well-led. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good in the previous four areas safe, caring, effective and responsive. Improvements had also been made so that the rating of well-led was improved to good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found that people were safeguarded from abuse. Risks to people were managed and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Medicines were safely managed and people received them as prescribed. Lessons were learned when things had gone wrong. People were protected from the risk of possible infection.

People’s needs and choices were assessed. People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. People were supported to have access to health services and receive ongoing healthcare support.

People were treated with kindness and respect. Their privacy was respected and their independence promoted.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. People’s concerns and complaints were listened and responded to. No one was receiving end of life care; however, this had been considered where necessary.

Quality assurance systems were in place and operated effectively and the registered manager knew people well and was approachable. Feedback about the service was encouraged.

The rating was displayed as required.

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

This inspection took place 28 January 2016, and was unannounced.

The Cedars provides support and accommodation for up to six people who may have a learning disability or a mental health diagnosis. At the time of this inspection six people used the service.

At our previous inspection in August 2013 we judged the service was meeting the required standards and regulations.

The service had a 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service was run.

People’s safety risks were recognised, managed and reviewed and the staff understood how to keep people safe. There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs and keep people safe. Staff received regular training that provided them with the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.

People’s medicines were managed safely, which meant people received the medicines in the way they preferred and when they needed them.

The legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were being followed. People who used the service were supported to make certain specific decisions about their care.

People’s dietary needs were met. Where concerns were identified support and guidance from health care professionals was sought. People were supported with external health care services when it was required to ensure their health and wellbeing needs were met.

Staff supported and encouraged people to access the community and maintain relationships with their families and friends.

People were aware of the complaints procedure and knew how and to whom they could raise their concerns.

The registered manager regularly assessed and monitored the quality of care to ensure standards were met and maintained. However, when improvements were required they were not attended to in a timely way.

During our inspection we spoke with five people who used the service, a member of care staff and the deputy manager. People told us they were happy with their care. One person told us, “I like it here. I’ve lived here for a long time and I have no troubles”.

People told us they were involved in the planning of their care and the running of the home. One person told us, “We have meetings where we talk about the food we want, the jobs we do and where we want to go on holiday. We talk about what we want to do for Christmas too”.

We saw that staff were responsive to people’s needs and support was delivered by staff in a caring manner. Staff had received the essential training required to meet people’s needs.

We saw that people had access to appropriate amounts of food and drink and people told us they were able to choose the foods they ate.

People told us they felt safe living at the home, and staff were aware of the procedures in place to keep people safe.

We saw that there was a complaints procedure in place which was accessible to the people living at the home. People told us they would be happy to tell staff if they were unhappy with their care.

We carried out this inspection as part of our schedule of inspections to check on the care and welfare of people who used this service. The visit was unannounced, which meant that the registered provider and the staff did not know we were visiting.

We spoke with three people who used the service, two relatives, one member of staff and the manager. People who used the service told us that they liked living in the home. One person said, "They are helping me to become more independent. I need help with budgeting and cooking. The staff help me with this".

People we spoke with were positive about their experiences at Cedars; they were able to have free access to all areas of their home, participate in household tasks and were supported to be independent. We saw that people were supported to make decisions and were involved in the planning of their care. We saw that people were treated with care and respect.

We saw that people were supported to access the community and that appropriate risk management plans were in place to promote independence.

There were robust systems in place for the management of medication.

We saw that staff had the required knowledge and skills to provide the level of care that people required.

People who used the service and their relatives told us that they knew how to make a complaint if they needed to, but said that they were happy with the support provided.

We carried out this inspection because we had not visited the service for some time and we did not have enough information about the service to assess compliance. We visited the service to see what life was like for the people who lived in the home and to ensure that they received safe care and support.

Before our visit we contacted other people who may have had an interest in the service such as fire safety officers, environmental health, and local involvement networks (LINks). LINks are groups of individual members of the public and local voluntary and community groups who work together to improve health and social care services. To do this they gather the views of local people. No concerns were identified by any of these agencies.

During our visit we observed how staff and users of the service interacted and talked to people about the things they did and what they liked about the service. People we spoke with told us, "I like it here and the manager is great." One person said, "I can choose what I want to do and when I want to do it."

We saw that people using the service were comfortable in their surroundings and had access to all areas of the home. We saw that people were supported to be as independent as they wanted to be both in and out of the home.