Bristol City Council Shared Lives

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.At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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.

Processes for gathering feedback and ensuring support plans were fully completed were not always effective.People’s support plans did not always fully reflect their needs. We identified some people’s support plans needed further detail in relation to their preferences, goals, religious beliefs and end of life wishes. We found the provider had not established a consistent approach to gathering and analysing feedback across the service. During the assessment, the provider told us they would take action to address this. Despite these shortfalls, people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices. Support plans had been reviewed within the past year, and there was evidence of people’s involvement in the process. People and their relatives told us people were encouraged to develop skills and be part of daily family life. People were supported to personalise their bedrooms, which contained personal items important to them. Staff and shared lives carers demonstrated an understanding of people’s needs and preferences, and people and their relatives confirmed this. A relative said, “Yes I think so, [person] seems very happy and has the run of the house.”

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.The provider understood the diverse health and social care needs of people and the local community. People received coordinated and consistent care from shared lives carers who knew them well and understood their needs and preferences. The provider helped to maintain continuity of care for people when shared lives carers took breaks by recruiting and supporting respite and support carers.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. The service demonstrated an understanding of how to provide information in accessible formats to meet people's communication needs. The provider showed us examples of easy read information explaining how to make a complaint, safeguarding processes, and how the service stored and managed people's information. People's communication needs were recorded in their support plans, including whether they needed extra time to process information, had a visual impairment, or used communication aids such as hearing aids.

The provider did not always make it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support.The provider had not established a consistent approach to gathering and analysing formal feedback across the service to identify actions or learning. This reduced the provider's ability to gather meaningful feedback and use it to inform improvements. The provider told us they were exploring ways to improve this, including plans to start a person-led forum. Despite this shortfall, staff involved people in decisions about their care, and people and relatives shared feedback through ongoing monitoring and annual reviews. People and their relatives told us they had no concerns and felt confident raising any issues when needed. A relative said, “No I haven’t. [person] is very happy. I would contact [registered manager]." The service had an accessible complaints process for people to follow. The registered manager confirmed there had been no recent complaints about the service.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.Staff understood how discrimination and inequality could affect people's access to care and support and took steps to reduce barriers and avoid unnecessary delays. The service offered different support options, including short breaks for people living with family carers. Support plans included information about people’s mobility and communication needs, helping shared lives carers make reasonable adjustments when needed. A shared lives carer told us how they supported a person to attend health appointments and visit unfamiliar places which may cause anxiety by advocating on their behalf and providing reassurance when needed. Shared lives carers told us they could contact staff for advice and support and seek guidance from the registered manager when required. A shared lives carer said, “[Staff member] is always on hand, very good. All of them. If they are not around, I can speak to others or [registered manager].”

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.People were treated equally, and their care and support reflected their individual needs. Staff assessed people’s needs before they moved into the service and reviewed them annually. Staff and shared lives carers received training in equality and diversity and understood how to promote equality, reduce barriers and delays, and protect people’s rights.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future. People’s support plans included information about their planned outcomes and goals. The registered manager told us how the service worked with people living with their family carers, those in fostering arrangements and other professionals to plan and prepare for future changes in people's support arrangements, including moves to the service and between shared lives carers. During the assessment we identified sections of some people’s support plans relating to end of life wishes had not been completed. The registered manager told us there was no one using the service receiving end of life care. The provider told us they would take action to ensure people’s wishes were documented.