The Cedars care home, Holden Bridge

What families say

Families talk about feeling relaxed when they visit, finding it easy to chat with staff about their loved one's care. Some have watched their relatives rediscover parts of themselves they thought were lost, taking on small daily tasks that bring back a sense of purpose.

Based on 14 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-02-18 · Report published 2023-02-18 · Inspected 6 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Cedars received a Good rating for Safe at the January 2023 inspection, an improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating. The published summary does not include specific detail about staffing numbers, medicines management, falls monitoring, or infection control observations. The presence of a named registered manager and nominated individual suggests a clear accountability structure was in place. No concerns or enforcement actions are recorded in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating means inspectors were satisfied that the systems protecting your parent were working. However, the inspection report available to us does not record specific staffing ratios, night cover numbers, or how medicines are managed day to day. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in care homes: the question of how many permanent staff are on after 8pm is one of the most important you can ask. Cleanliness and safe environment together feature in nearly 36% of positive family reviews in our data, so these are things families genuinely notice and value. The improvement from Requires Improvement is encouraging, but ask the home specifically what changed and how it is monitored.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that reliance on agency staff is one of the strongest predictors of inconsistent safety in care homes, particularly on night shifts, because unfamiliar staff cannot recognise early signs of deterioration in residents they do not know.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not just the staffing template. Count how many shifts on the dementia unit were covered by permanent staff versus agency staff, and specifically check night shifts."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Cedars received a Good rating for Effective at the January 2023 inspection. This domain covers care planning, training, nutrition and hydration, and access to healthcare. The published summary does not include specific detail about care plan content, dementia training programmes, GP access arrangements, or how food quality and dietary needs are managed. No concerns are recorded in the published findings for this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, the Effective domain is where dementia-specific knowledge shows up in practice: whether staff understand how dementia progresses, whether care plans are written around your parent as an individual rather than as a diagnosis, and whether food and hydration are genuinely monitored. Food quality appears in nearly 21% of positive family reviews in our data, and families frequently describe it as a reliable sign of how much a home genuinely cares. The Good Practice evidence base shows that care plans work best when families help write them and when they are reviewed at least every three months. The inspection did not confirm specific detail on any of these areas, so ask directly.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that dementia training which goes beyond basic awareness, covering communication, behavioural understanding, and person-centred approaches, produces measurable improvements in the quality of daily interactions between staff and residents with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff receive, how recently it was updated, and whether it covers communication with people who have lost verbal language. Then ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if necessary) to check whether it describes your parent's personal history, preferences, and daily routines, or whether it reads as a generic document."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Cedars received a Good rating for Caring at the January 2023 inspection. This domain covers warmth, dignity, respect, and independence. The published summary does not include specific inspector observations of staff interactions, resident quotes about how they are treated, or examples of how the home protects privacy. No concerns are recorded for this domain in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned specifically in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are the things families notice most and remember longest. The published inspection findings for The Cedars confirm a Good rating but offer no specific observations to anchor that rating to what daily life actually looks like. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken words for people with advanced dementia: how quickly staff respond to agitation, whether they make eye contact, and whether interactions feel unhurried are all things you can observe yourself on a visit, regardless of what is written in the report.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that person-centred care for people with dementia depends on staff knowing the individual's life history, preferred name, and personal routines, and that homes where staff can articulate these details about specific residents consistently achieve better outcomes for dignity and wellbeing.","watch_out":"When you visit, spend time in a communal area and watch how staff address residents who are not in a formal activity. Do staff use preferred names? Do they stop and make eye contact, or do they move through the room without pausing? Ask a member of staff what your parent's preferred name would be called, and observe whether the answer comes naturally."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Cedars received a Good rating for Responsive at the January 2023 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, and end-of-life care. The published summary does not describe specific activities, how the programme is tailored to individuals with dementia, or how the home supports residents who cannot join group sessions. No concerns are recorded for this domain in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness, which includes contentment, engagement, and a sense of having a life rather than merely being kept safe, appears in 27.1% of positive family reviews in our data, and activities specifically feature in 21.4%. For people with dementia, individual engagement matters more than group programmes: a person with more advanced dementia who cannot follow a group quiz session still benefits from one-to-one conversation, music, or familiar domestic tasks. The Good Practice evidence base shows that Montessori-based and household-task approaches can reach people who are no longer able to join structured activities. The inspection did not record specific detail on whether The Cedars offers this kind of individual engagement. Ask directly, and observe on your visit.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found strong evidence that tailored individual activities, particularly those drawing on a resident's life history and former routines, are more effective than group-only programmes for people with moderate to advanced dementia, both for wellbeing and for reducing distressed behaviour.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator (or manager, if there is no dedicated activities person) how they would support your parent on a day when group activities are not running, or if your parent could not participate in group sessions. Ask to see the activity schedule for the past two weeks and check whether any one-to-one sessions are recorded alongside group events."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Cedars received a Good rating for Well-led at the January 2023 inspection, improving from a previous Requires Improvement rating. The report names Mrs Joanne Ellis as registered manager and Mr Daniel Ryan as nominated individual, indicating clear accountability. The published summary does not include specific observations about management culture, staff morale, governance processes, or how the home collects and responds to feedback from residents and families. No concerns are recorded for this domain in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and the Good Practice evidence base consistently finds that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality over time. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good is the most important single piece of information in this report: it means inspectors found real change, not just promises. However, the published text does not tell you how long the current manager has been in post, how staff describe the culture, or whether families feel listened to. Communication with families features in 11.5% of positive reviews, and knowing how the home will keep you informed when things change, including health changes, incidents, and shifts in your parent's condition, is something to explore directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear of blame, and where managers are regularly visible on the floor rather than office-based, achieve consistently better outcomes for residents across all domains, including safety and wellbeing.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long she has been in post at The Cedars specifically, and what the main changes were that led to the improvement from Requires Improvement. Then ask how the home communicates with families when something changes for their parent, whether that is a fall, a health change, or a shift in behaviour, and what the typical response time is."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on The Cedars provides specialist dementia care alongside general support for residents over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team works with residents living with dementia to maintain familiar routines and support their daily needs in a structured environment. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.