The Emmie Dixon Home

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Staff showed kindness and patience when supporting people, offering reassurance and taking an interest in what they had to say. Staff knew people well and understood their preferences including how they liked to spend their time and what they enjoyed eating and drinking. One relative we spoke with told us, “[Staff] have been brilliant with [Name], I know she’s being looked after, everyone is so friendly.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.
Care plans contained detailed information about people's communication needs and preferred ways of expressing themselves. They included information about people's interests, hobbies and life histories to help staff provide personalised support. The provider demonstrated a person-centred approach by working closely with other professionals and those important to people to help meet their individual needs.Care plan reviews involved the people who supported the person day-to-day, helping to make sure their needs, wishes and preferences remained at the centre of decisions about their care.People were encouraged to express and maintain their cultural, spiritual and religious beliefs in ways that were meaningful to them. For example, one person was supported to spend time in an area of the home that reflected their spiritual preferences and where they felt most comfortable expressing their beliefs.
 

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.
Care plans reflected people’s communication needs and preferences, with guidance for staff to support communication and informed choices about care and daily routines.
Staff understood people's individual communication needs and supported them to make choices in ways that were meaningful to them. This included suggesting activities based on people's interests where they were unsure what they wanted to do.People were encouraged to make decisions about their day-to-day lives and were supported to maintain as much independence as possible. They were actively involved in the running of their home, including contributing to discussions about menus and activities and getting dining tables ready at mealtimes.
Staff told us there was enough time to support people without rushing them. People were able to make choices about their daily routines, including deciding when they wanted to get up in the morning. Staff respected these choices and tailored support around people's preferences.
 

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.
The provider had recently introduced a new call bell system to help staff to respond more quickly to people’s needs and make it easier for people to ask for support.
When people’s needs changed, the provider acted quickly to get support from community health teams. For example, when one person was diagnosed with a new health condition, the community team provided tailored training to help staff understand the condition, how it might affect the person, and the additional support they may need.The provider had processes in place for responding to emergencies. During a prolonged period of hot weather, a new action plan was introduced to help ensure people stayed hydrated and temperatures within the home remained safe.
 

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.
We observed positive, open, and respectful working relationships between managers and staff. The registered manager showed a clear commitment to supporting and valuing staff, who told us they felt appreciated and respected in their roles.The provider gathered staff feedback annually through a questionnaire. The registered manager reviewed the responses and used the findings to develop an action plan to support ongoing improvement. The outcomes were shared with staff, so they could see how their feedback had been used to support improvements to the service.
One staff member told us, “Managers door is always open, can talk to her anytime. Everyone opens up if something is not working, things change straight away.” Another member of staff said, “You get support for stress from seniors or registered manager. Everything is good.”