Bristol City Council Shared Lives

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 70 (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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.People and their relatives told us shared lives carers treated people with kindness and compassion. A person said, “Nice people. They will help us, they are kind.” 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. A shared lives carer described how they maintained people’s dignity during personal care and balanced the needs of everyone living in the family home. They told us, “Everyone respects each other here.” People’s rights to privacy and confidentiality were respected, and their information and care records were stored securely. Professionals confirmed there was a culture of kindness, both towards people supported by the service and towards professionals from other organisations. A professional said, “Yes, all the staff that I have encountered have been so kind and compassionate. They genuinely care about the people they are supporting.”

People’s support plans relating to their individual needs and preferences were not always sufficiently detailed. We found some people’s support plans lacked detail about their individual preferences, including their eating and drinking preferences, daily routines and religious beliefs. We raised this with the registered manager, who told us they were aware improvements were needed in people’s support plans. Despite this shortfall, the provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care and support met their needs and preferences. Staff and shared lives carers knew people well, and described how they had built meaningful relationships, understood people's strengths and supported people to develop new skills. A shared lives carer told us, “We learn routes together, when confident [person] goes independently.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.People told us they took part in activities they enjoyed and made choices about how they spent their time. Staff worked with other providers, both within and outside the local authority, to identify opportunities for people using the service. Examples included gardening groups, social clubs and supported holidays. A relative said, “[They have] a lot of support with activities, [person] does more now than they did at home.” People were supported to maintain important relationships and had regular contact with friends and family members. A relative said, “[Person] is always very positive about going back, gives [carer] a hug.” Shared lives carers told us how they encouraged people to make everyday choices, develop their independence, learn new skills and take part in day-to-day tasks. A shared lives carer said, “[Person] is quite independent, out every day, attends day centre, cleans their room, does washing and food shopping for their packed lunches.” Another relative said, “I think [shared lives carer] has been amazing, as close to independent living as possible.” Staff demonstrated a commitment to promoting independence and helping people lead meaningful lives. A staff member said, “It’s our responsibility to maximise people’s independence and support them to have a life outside of the family home.” Professionals also spoke positively about the relationships staff had built to create opportunities for people. A professional from another provider service said, “The team strive to support people to live independent and fulfilled lives.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.People and their relatives told us shared lives carers knew people well and recognised when people needed additional support. For example, a person told us how their shared lives carer responded to provide support when they felt low in mood. Relatives told us the service responded positively and engaged in discussions about people’s changing needs as necessary.The registered manager gave examples of how people were supported when their needs changed. This included supporting a person to move to a new setting when their needs could no longer be met within the service and using technology to help people travel independently while managing risks.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.The service supported staff and shared lives carers to take breaks from their roles by ensuring suitable cover and support arrangements were available. This included recruiting and assessing support and respite shared lives carers. Staff and shared lives carers were supported through processes such as supervision, monitoring visits and meetings. Staff and shared lives carers told us they felt supported, listened to and able to make suggestions. We heard examples of how the service responded positively when individuals experienced challenging circumstances. A shared lives carer said, “Yes absolutely, always have done. They were really supportive.”