Visiting Christian Science Nursing Service

Updated 11 November 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

The service is a domiciliary care agency which provided personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager was in post and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice to ensure they were available for the inspection.

What we did before inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed all of the information available to us, including any information of concern, notifications and the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with the manager, nominated individual (director), two staff and one person. We tried to make contact with one person’s relative but were not successful. We looked at a range of records relating to the management of the service. This included recruitment records, risk assessments, and quality assurance records. We considered all this information to help us to make a judgement about the service.

Updated 11 November 2022

About the service

Cedar House is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people who live in their own home. At the time of the inspection there were two people who were receiving personal care.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

Cedar House is a service based on the teachings of Christian Science. Most people using the service were members of the Christian Science Church. Throughout this report we have referred to Christian Science nurses. They are individuals who have specifically trained in accordance with an accredited training program, implemented and managed by an independent organisation. They are not medical nurses, registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

The one person we spoke with told us they felt safe. They spoke positively about the care they received and about the staff. They had confidence in their knowledge and skills. The people that the staff supported did not take medicines due to their own beliefs. They followed the teachings and practice of Christian Science. Incidents and accidents were reported, investigated and actions taken to prevent recurrence. The staff team had received safeguarding training and were aware of how to act on any concerns. Staff attended regular meetings and had supervision. Staff were provided appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) which they used effectively to prevent spread of infection.

People benefitted from a service that was well led. The manager, nominated individual, and the staff were knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the service. Quality assurance systems were in place and based upon regular, scheduled audits which identified any action required to make improvements. This meant the quality of service people received was monitored on a regular basis and, where shortfalls were identified they were acted upon.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 30 November 2017). At this inspection the rating had remained Good.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out as the service had not been inspected since the 31 October 2017. We undertook this focused inspection to check the service was safe and well-led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cedar House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk