Enter and view: The Cedars

Healthwatch Stoke on Trent conducted an Enter and View on The Cedars, a privately owned care home that is part of the Anchor Homes Group, it has 42 places on 6th September 2017.

The visit was arranged to access how the Dignity and Respect Charter was being perceived by residents and staff, and also due to the CQC report released in February 2017 which gave the rating of requires improvement.

Observation by the Enter and View representatives reported that:

the facility is large, spacious and well decorated, grounds are pleasant and well maintained, cleanliness seemed generally good, staff seemed highly aware and helpful, all staff seemed friendly and caring, there are 40 regular members of staff, there are two full time cooks and two cleaners, the staff were easily visible during the visit, procedures observed during the visit were all done professionally, quietly, patiently and with empathy, the home operates the 'triangle of care' * principle, care program approaches are carried out each day, all residents rooms were of similar size with good access, all rooms visited were clean and well decorated with "nostalgia" items present, there appeared to be a good atmosphere and attitude displayed by the staff, there is no activities coordinator but staff and residents assured that there is a wide range of

daily activities, a hairdresser was on site during the visit, all food is prepared on site, three types of meal were were on the menu all looked good, there was a focus on hydration, all walls were clean and painted in bright colours, on the second floor was section designed for rehabilitative occupational therapy, there were display boards with locks, chains and other equipment which is used every day that residents might have issues using, on the first floor a laundry cart with dirty linens was in the lobby, it was left standing for the better part of the visit and was unhygienic and caused an unpleasant smell, there was another laundry carrier with the same issue on the second floor, there was evidence of fresh soiling in one of the toilets which was unsafe and unhygienic.

Residents relatives commented that:

"All residents seem to be happy", "could not fault the care", "grandma thought she had been on holiday".

Recommendations made after the visit were:

Obtain the services of a full time activity coordinator and display an up to date list of activities on notice boards,

Generally, make more use of notice boards, if only to provide information for carers/family members. We would also wish to see our Dignity and Respect charter displayed,

Ensure a confirmed registration with a GP Practice to provide proper GP care when required (Healthwatch Stoke is currently seeking to resolve this),

Healthwatch Stoke on Trent to undertake another visit in the future to see what further improvements have been made.

*‘a therapeutic alliance between service user, staff and carer that promotes safety, supports recovery and sustains wellbeing. The concept of a triangle has been proposed by many carers who wish to be thought of as active partners within the care team’