Hippo Care Limited

Ratings

• Overall

  Requires improvement

• Safe

  Requires improvement

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

This assessment took place between 21 November 2025 to 6 January 2026. Hippo Care Limited is a homecare service providing the regulated activities of personal care to people living in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 83 people being supported by the service who were receiving personal care.

This service had not been inspected since their registration. We assessed all quality statements across the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions. As a result of our inspection, we have rated the service requires improvement. We identified 2 breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. There was a lack of consistent oversight of the service and auditing processes were not always effective in identifying shortfalls. Medicines were not routinely managed safely. Risks relating to people’s health, safety and welfare were in place, but they were not always robust and some key areas had not been assessed. Care records were not always detailed, person-centred, reflected people’s needs or provided a full accurate account of support provided.

There was a registered manager in post. The provider worked mainly with 1 local authority who commissioned their services.

Feedback from staff was positive and they told us they felt supported. Comments included, “My wellbeing is supported through fair rotas, flexibility when needed, and emotional support after challenging visits. I feel listened to when I raise concerns about workload”, “There is strong teamwork within Hippo Care Limited. [Staff] communicate well through notes, messages, and direct calls” and “I feel valued when the office shares positive feedback from families.”

We found the provider and registered manager responsive to our feedback throughout the inspection.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

People's experience of this service

We arranged for an Expert by Experience to make telephone calls to people and their relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

We received mixed feedback from people using the service and their relatives. Some people told us they were happy with the service, had consistent staff, who provided respectful and kind care. Some people told us they had good communication with the office. Positive comments from people included, “An amazing service from a grateful customer. I’m very happy with my first time of care” and “Staff are consistent. Female carers. I would not want a male.”

However, some people described concerns including poor timekeeping, inconsistent carers, lack of care plans, insufficient training, inappropriate handling of personal information, and infection-control weaknesses. People and relatives who were critical told us, “The care company sent in carers who had no knowledge of what is expected of them. The care company should have trained them properly”, “Random carers turn up and say, ‘I am from the agency’, and often don’t have an identity card to show” and “They don’t change their gloves after cleaning the toilet and keep them on while doing other tasks.”

We have provided feedback to the provider to take action.