Walfinch Reigate & Horsham

Updated 17 September 2025

Date of assessment: 10 November 2025 to 26 November 2025.

Walfinch Reigate and Horsham is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care for people in their own homes. This was carried out by either a live in carer or carers completing care visits throughout the day. At the time of our assessment, 24 people using the service were in receipt of the regulated activity of personal care.

The service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January 2023. This is the provider’s first assessment and rating since registering.

The provider was in breach of legal regulations relating to care and treatment, good governance and notification of incidents.

The registered manager had left the service with immediate effect the week before our assessment. The managing director was leading the service whilst recruitment for a new registered manager was taking place.

Care records were not always accurate regarding people’s needs and risks associated with their care. Medicine management was not always safe, as administration records were not completed despite staff preparing medicine doses. Staff had not always completed training relevant to the needs of the people they supported and often worked long hours without any breaks. We identified that one staff member had also not received adequate induction or training before delivering care to a person. Staff did not always follow the provider’s infection prevention and control policy. Actions to prevent the recurrence of accidents and incidents were not always taken, leaving people at risk of harm.

There was a lack of governance and oversight at the service from all levels of the management team, which meant opportunities for improving areas of care delivery and documentation were missing. However, the provider had a strong vision for the service he wanted to deliver. Further work was required to ensure the regulation requirements were met within this vision.

In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward.

We have requested that the provider develop an action plan in response to the concerns identified during this assessment.

Updated 17 September 2025

Overall, people were complimentary of the care they received from staff. One person told us, “I feel so lucky with the carers we have had.” However, some people stated there were sometimes concerns with the younger staff’s manner and infection prevention and control practices. For example, one person said, “I’m not a complaining person. Before having the good carer that I have now, I was asked if I would recommend Walfinch. I said no, because the people they were sending were too young and not suitable for an elderly person like me.” However, people who stated they raised concerns about particular staff members had their wishes respected and listened to, and a different staff member was provided for their care calls. One person told us, “I’ve only raised a concern regarding one carer. The concerns were listened to and changes were made.” Another person told us, “I have asked only once asked for a different carer as we had some concerns and the minute we called Walfinch, she was replaced. We were listened to.” People and their relatives told us they were sometimes not updated when changes to the rota occurred, which meant different staff arrived for their care calls than originally planned. However, people said the staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity.