- Homecare service
Bristol City Council Shared Lives
Assessment report published 22 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 20 May to 10 June 2026. Bristol City Council Shared Lives Scheme matches adults with care and support needs with approved, trained shared lives carers in the local community, enabling them to share family and everyday life. The service recruits, trains and supports self-employed shared lives carers who provide accommodation and personalised support within their own homes. The service offers long-term arrangements, short breaks and day support. At the time of our assessment, the service was supporting 25 people with personal care. Not everyone using the service received personal care. CQC only inspects services where personal care is provided. Personal care includes support with daily tasks such as washing, dressing and eating. In this report, we refer to people using the service, shared lives carers who share their homes with people and provide support, and shared lives staff, including the registered manager, who manage, monitor and coordinate the work of shared lives carers and the service.
The provider was in breach of the legal regulation relating to safe care and treatment and good governance. We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Despite shortfalls identified, we found the provider was meeting the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
People told us they felt safe using the service and were able to raise any concerns. However, governance systems were not always effective in monitoring and improving the quality of the service. For example, we found medicines were not always managed safely in line with national guidance, and risks to people were not always sufficiently assessed. The provider had not always ensured shared lives carers received effective training. Despite these shortfalls, people were treated with kindness and compassion, and their dignity was respected. Staff and shared lives carers told us they felt well supported. People were supported to take positive risks and maintain their independence. The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection, and environmental risks were appropriately managed. The service worked collaboratively with health and social care professionals and promoted equality, diversity and inclusion. The management team responded positively to the shortfalls identified during the assessment. We asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found during this assessment.
People's experience of this service
We met with 3 people who used the service and spoke with 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. While most people and relatives expressed general satisfaction with the care they received, our assessment found some elements of care did not meet the expected standards. We met with people using the service and observed positive interactions and supportive relationships between people, shared lives carers and staff. People were treated with dignity and respect. We identified some shortfalls in support planning in relation to people’s needs and preferences. People’s consent to care and treatment was not always clearly documented within support plans. The provider had not established a consistent formal approach to gathering feedback across the service to identify actions and learning.
Shared lives carers and staff promoted people’s independence, ensuring they had choice and control over their care. People were supported to access the local community and take part in activities of their choice. Staff completed a matching and introductory process before shared lives arrangements started to help ensure people’s needs could be met. People received information in a format which met their communication needs. Professionals told us they had good communication and positive working relationships with the service, which supported continuity of care for people. People and their relatives spoke positively about the support provided. A relative said, “[person] is in the best place they can be, thriving from it. They support them in the best way possible.” Another said, “Excellent environment for [person] to be in.”