We undertook an unannounced comprehensive inspection of Darley Dale Care Home on 14 February 2018.

Darley Dale Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Darley Dale Care Home does not provide nursing care.

Darley Dale Care Home accommodates 13 people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection visit there were 3 people using the service.

At our last comprehensive inspection 26 February 2016 we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the service was rated Requires Improvement.

People were not fully protected against risks from receiving care for example a bath hoist had not been recently checked to ensure it was safe to use.

We made a recommendation about the maintenance of equipment and the safety of the environment.

The audit system had not identified risks to people’s safety from equipment and the environment of the care home.

Darley Dale Care home had a registered manager in post. 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 and their representatives made positive comments about Darley Dale Care Home; they appreciated the caring approach of the staff and the atmosphere of a small care home.

We found the environment of the care home was clean. People’s medicines were safely managed.

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

People’s individual needs and wishes were known to staff who had achieved positive relationships with them. People and their representatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Visitors were welcomed into the care home.

Staff received support to develop knowledge and skills for their role. There were arrangements in place for people and their representatives to raise concerns about the service. The management were visible and accessible to people and their visitors.

The inspection took place on the 4 April 2017 and was unannounced. We previously inspected the service on 26 February 2016 where we found breaches of regulations 16 and 18 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 in relation to a lack of notifications. CQC monitors events affecting the welfare, health and safety of people living in the home through notifications that providers are required to send to us.

Darley Dale Care Home provides accommodation and care for up to 13 older people. At the time of our inspection there were four people living at the home.

Arrangements were in place to report deaths and other important events impacting on people using the service to the CQC through notifications.

At the time of our inspection visit Darley Dale Care Home had a registered manager in post. 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.

The inspection took place on the 26 February 2016 and was unannounced. The home was last inspected on 2 July 2013 and met all the legal requirements assessed at that time.

Darley Dale Care Home provides accommodation and care for up to 13 older people. At the time of our inspection there were seven people living at the home.

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.

We had not been notified of some events affecting people living at the home. CQC monitors events affecting the welfare, health and safety of people living in the home through notifications that providers are required to send to us.

People and their representatives made positive comments about Darley Dale Care Home; they appreciated the caring approach of the staff and the atmosphere of a small care home. Their individual needs and wishes were known to staff who had achieved positive relationships with them. People and their representatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Risks to people’s safety were identified, assessed and appropriate action taken. Visitors were welcomed into the care home. A relative of a person using the service told us Darley Dale was a “nice happy little place”.

Staff received support to develop knowledge and skills for their role. A small staff team worked well together to keep people safe and meet their needs. One staff member commented “we all get along quite well”. The management were visible and accessible to people, their visitors and staff.

We found breaches of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

During our visit we spent time with people in the communal lounge and spoke with six people living in the home. People we spoke with told us they were very happy living in the home and staff looked after them well helping them to make choices about their daily living. People told us “no complaints at all”, “they look after me well”, “I am comfortable here” and “the food is very good”.

Care plans were personalised to each individual's needs and from the people we observed we could see that they accurately reflected people’s needs and wishes. Staff we spoke with and observed showed that they had good knowledge of the people they supported. They were seen responding to each person respectfully, with good humour and in a manner appropriate to each individual’s needs.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. Care was provided in an environment that was suitably designed and adequately maintained. The home was a family run business and the provider and managers lived close by and often stayed on the premises. We could see that there was an open relationship with the managers and people living in the home. We saw that people were comfortable airing their views about the home and were actively involved in discussions about any changes to the service.

People told us what it was like to live at this home and described how they were treated by staff and their involvement in making choices about their care. They also told us about the quality and choice of food and drink available.

People were positive about how they were supported by the staff team. Examples of comments people made included, “The staff are very kind and calm”. “I couldn’t do it, their job is very hard but they are always patient.” “The staff are very good I can talk to them whenever I need too.” “If I was unhappy I would tell the staff.”

During our inspection we followed up how the provider had addressed the compliance actions that were made at our last visit on 12 October 2011.

The care plans we saw now showed a more person centred approach to care practises. They contained information to guide staff to give people the care they needed.

We saw people were being asked their views of the care and support at the home. There were methods to check, monitor the quality of the service people received.

We spoke with six people living in the home. They told us about the quality of care they receive. Comments included;"more or less home from home", "definitely without a doubt get the care I need","they look after people here". One person told us; "everybody cares...accept who I am".

When we asked about activities people said that they would like more to do. One person said; "wouldn't mind doing something, I get bored". Another person said; "it would be nice to have more going on".

Asking about the food provided in the home people told us they enjoyed the meals. However they also said there was no choice offered and they did not know what the meals were going to be. One person told us "we never know what's for dinner we eat what they give us".

We looked at some comments received from relatives; "I'm so grateful we chose your home" and "she always told me how well looked after she was and how kind everyone was", and "made her feel loved and important".