Staff at a north Norfolk care home are celebrating after being graded 'good' by the county's health watchdog - following years of negative report cards.

The Mount residential home in Heydon Road, Aylsham, finally won praise from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for its quality of care, staff and resident support, safety and 'calm atmosphere'.

Dev Tirbhowan, the care home's owner, said after it had been graded 'inadequate' in 2017 and then 'requires improvement' in 2018, the latest report came as a godsend.

He said: "It has been a big effort but it has been worth it, after many years of sleepless nights."

Karen Powley, who has been the registered manager on site since September 2018, said she wanted to thank the 21 staff who had helped turn the care home around.

North Norfolk News: Staff at the Mount care home in Aylsham are celebrating after their first Good CQC report in years. Picture: Stuart AndersonStaff at the Mount care home in Aylsham are celebrating after their first Good CQC report in years. Picture: Stuart Anderson (Image: Archant)

She said: "All the hard work has paid off. We've put in some quite robust systems across the whole home, and taken account of what residents want, and what families want."

The Mount opened as a care home in a converted house in 1985, and since then it has expanded from having seven residents' beds to 22.

It is home to male residents aged from 49 to 82, who have dementia, Parkinson's or mental health issues which require full-time care.

After the inspection on May 28 this year, the CQC reported: "There has not always been strong management and oversight which has meant the service has not always been compliant with legislation. At this inspection we saw a marked improvement and a rating of good has awarded.

"Staff received the training and support necessary to help them carry out the regulated activity and there were enough staff to ensure people had timely support.

"People were observed throughout the day and were comfortable and there were no odours in the service."

The report went onto say: "There was a calm atmosphere throughout the day and the environment suited people's needs well.

"People were supported to stay safe because the environment was well maintained, and risks were identified and where reasonably possible controlled."

Ms Powley said they wanted to do even better in their next inspection.

She said: "We're going to try and aim for outstanding in our next report."