This inspection took place on 6 December 2016 and was unannounced. The service was last inspected on 24 January 2014 and was compliant in all areas.

Goyt Valley House is a residential care home for up to 30 older people. The service is situated in the village of New Mills in Derbyshire. At the time of our inspection, 28 people were living at the service. The service provides care and support for people, with a range of medical and age related conditions, including mobility issues, diabetes and dementia.

There was 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’s medicines were managed safely. There were procedures in place to ensure medicines were safely stored, administered and disposed of.

The provider had recruitment procedures in place and employed new staff once appropriate checks had been completed. The provider had a system of ensuring new staff participated in an induction which included a period of shadowing an experienced staff member. New staff completed The Care Certificate as part of their induction. There were enough staff available to support and respond to people’s needs in a timely manner.

People’s care plans and records were updated and provided staff with the information needed to meet people’s needs. People and their relatives were happy with the care and support provided and everyone felt their individual needs were being met.

Staff and members of the management team were able to explain to us how they maintained people’s safety and protected their rights. Training was provided and included the Mental Capacity Act (2005), Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and safeguarding.

Staff knew people well and were aware of the importance of treating them with dignity and respect. Staff were kind, caring and compassionate; people’s self-esteem was promoted and staff supported and encouraged them to remain as independent as possible.

People’s nutritional needs were met; special dietary needs were catered for. Staff understood people’s health needs; people were supported to access relevant health care professionals and any recommendations were followed.

Information regarding how to make a complaint was available; people knew how to raise concerns and complaints. Information was on display to signpost people to the relevant agencies should it be necessary to raise a concern or complaint. A number of audits were carried out to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

Staff supervision and training was kept up-to-date. Meetings were held with people to give them the opportunity to voice their thoughts about the services they received. The registered manager and staff understood their role and responsibilities.

At our visit we spoke with people who used the service, relatives and professionals who were at the home. People we spoke with were positive about the service. One person said, “It’s excellent.” Another person said, “You couldn’t get better.” Professionals told us that the home worked well with them. Their comments included; “The staff manage the medical side well” and “It’s how elderly care should be.”

People’s care records were personalised and showed that their written consent was properly obtained before they received any care at the home. Where people’s assessed needs identified any risks to their health and welfare, we found their written care plans showed what action staff needed to take to reduce these.

Procedures were in place for the management of medication. Risk assessments had been undertaken and guidance was available to staff.

We found that people received care from adequate levels of skilled and knowledgeable staff. We saw that staff spoke to people with consideration and respect.

The provider assessed and monitored the quality of service provided. This was done through audits and seeking people’s views. People told us that staff were very approachable.

We found that people living at Goyt Valley House were happy with the care they received. One person told us, "It's a great place. Staff have a laugh with us and they really do care."

We found that staff were recruited using appropriate procedures and that they were well trained. We also found that they were aware of how to protect people from the risk of abuse and how to report any concerns.

We saw that people were involved in daily decisions about their care, although their files did not always evidence this. We also saw that people's dignity and privacy was respected at the home.

We looked at care files and saw that areas of risk, for example regarding people's health conditions were not assessed and that guidance for staff was not always detailed and personalised. The manager told us that new systems were being introduced to address this. We also found that consent was not always being obtained for people's care.

We found that systems were in place to monitor the quality of service that was provided at Goyt Valley House and that people's views were sought and responded to regarding quality.