Walfinch Reigate & Horsham

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated Good.

This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 68 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People told us they were involved in reviewing their care plans. One person told us, “I have access to my care plan. The carers log in 4 times a day. I don’t normally ask about the care plans and I leave it in their hands. I trust the carers and am confident they are on top of everything.” Another person told us, “We review it now and then.” This enabled people to be at the centre of their care planning and have their voices heard.

There were some shortfalls in how the provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was not always joined-up, flexible or supportive of choice and continuity.

People were given a rota in advance to inform them which staff member would be attending their care calls for the following 10 days. The compliance manager told us, “There is not much cancelling or changes to the calls once the rotas are set. Any changes are kept to a minimum.” However, feedback from people and staff did not echo this. One person told us, “The organisation is not good at letting me know that the person I want will be coming that day. They never let me know.” A staff member added, “A rota is emailed to the clients, so they are aware who is coming to help them, but due to staff shortages often rotas are changed without updating clients. For example, if I turn up say at 10am at a client’s home, they are angry as they have been waiting since 7:30am for somebody as that is what their rota will say.” This led to people receiving inconsistent continuity in their care.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Details around people’s communication needs were included in their care plans. This included information on when people had experienced any hearing or sight loss, and how to best provide the person with information if required. A staff member confirmed this was considered when supporting people during appointments with other professionals involved in their care. They told us, “I make sure that any other professionals involved in my client’s care know how to best communicate with [person].”

The provider did not always make it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff did not always involve people in decisions about their care or tell them what had changed as a result.

The provider was not always proactive in listening to concerns raised by people. We reviewed the provider’s compliments and complaints spreadsheet, which only had compliments recorded. However, we observed elements of negative feedback received in reviews with people who had not been recorded or resolved to improve the service being delivered. For example, feedback gained from a person receiving care from the service in September 2025 by the registered manager at the time had also highlighted an issue around changes in the care staff that were attending. The feedback stated, “[Person] commented that the lack of communication in relation to changes to the visit schedule can be frustrating and has asked us to pay more attention to this. I apologised and have noted that this has been rather consistent feedback I've received, both in supervisions with the team, as well as within the quality audits I am undertaking.” Despite this, no firm action had been taken to address this issue. Following our assessment, the managing director told us they had reverted to send manual rotas to people as a technical issue had been discovered in the rota system they were using.

However, we also observed some positive feedback. This included feedback received from a relative who stated, “I just wanted you to know that [person] was so happy with [staff member]. She made him delicious scrambled eggs and really looked after him. I want to thank her too for clearing everything away and leaving the kitchen immaculate.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The provider supported people to access the funding and benefits available to them. The managing director told us, “We’re dealing with people in different financial positions. When we do a preassessment there is no charge at that point. Dependent on their conditions we make them aware of the funding that could be available for them and that they could be eligible.”

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff supported people to attend events that were important to them. For example, one person had required support to attend a relative’s funeral. The provider had ensured staff were able to attend this with them so they could be present as well as offering emotional support.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Care plans included details of whether Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) paperwork was in place and clearly noted where this could be found in the person’s home, ensuring staff and emergency responders could act appropriately.