The Emmie Dixon Home

Updated 17 March 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection was carried out 29 January 2018 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides care services for people with learning disabilities who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

Before the inspection we contacted Cheshire East Council Contracts department. They told us that they had no concerns about the service. We looked at all of the information that Care Quality Commission had received about and from, the service since the last inspection. This included notifications about issues that had happened in the service. The registered manager had completed a provider information return. A provider information return is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what they do well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, representatives of the provider and four care staff. We spent time observing how people were cared for and their interactions with staff in order to understand their experience. We were able to speak to two people and one relative.

We spent time looking at records, including three people’s care records, three staff files and other records relating to the management of the service, such as policies and procedures, accident/incident recording and audit documentation.

Updated 17 March 2018

The inspection took place on 29 January 2018 and was announced. The service was rated Good at the last inspection in April 2015. The Emmie Dixon Home accommodates twelve people who have a physical and/or learning disability who need personal care. The home is located in a residential area of Crewe, close to shops, pubs and other local amenities, local transport and road networks.

At this inspection we found the service remained good, however had achieved a rating of requires improvement in the safe domain. We found medication procedures at the home were mainly safe, however we identified a recording problem regarding medication.

The home has 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 is run.

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

We spoke with the people who lived in the home and relatives who all gave positive feedback about the home and the staff who worked in it. The service had a relaxed and homely feel and people could move freely around the service as they chose. People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and participate in activities they enjoyed.

Care plans and risk assessments were person centred and detailed how people wished and needed to be cared for. They were regularly reviewed and updated as required. Care plans showed that people's GPs and other healthcare professionals were contacted for advice about people’s health needs whenever necessary. We saw the service had responded promptly when people had experienced health problems.

The registered manager used different methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits of the service and staff meetings to seek the views of staff about the service. The staff team were consistent and long standing. The providers were also heavily involved in the running of the service.

Staff were recruited safely and there was evidence that staff received a proper induction and suitable training to do their job role effectively. All staff had been supervised in their role. Staffing levels were consistent and were adapted to meet people’s needs.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.