Welcome to Greenway Care Connect. We are a carer introduction agency overseen by the Southmead Development Trust, with our headquarters at the Greenway Centre.
Using the online platform Community Care Connect we introduce carers and those seeking care and support at home.
Our purpose is to alleviate the social care crisis in the North and West of Bristol. We will strive to support good carers to return to or stay in the care sector, as well as attracting new staff to the industry by offering greater choice and control over working outcomes, schedules and pay.
We will use any revenue from our work to deliver free services and activities in the communities of North Bristol.
The Purpose
Our agency connects independent carers to people looking for care and support in the community. Working in partnership, carers and clients decide on outcomes and ways of working without interference from the agency.
To ensure safety, however, we do check the identities of those seeking care and screen carers who want to join the service.
We will support clients to to build a person-centred plan with their carers and provide carers with free training opportunities, peer support groups and events, plus billing and payment services.

The Reason
We want to increase choice and control for those who need care and support in North and West Bristol.
We also seek to: open up new, well-paid local employment opportunities for residents; support existing carers to remain in the care sector; and to bring good and reliable new workers to the industry.
We hope to use any revenue produced by the agency to fund Southmead Development Trust’s Neighbours Connect Southmead project where volunteers support residents to stay connected to their communities.
We recognise that community organisations like ours have a key role to play to tackle some of our biggest social problems of the day – whether that is climate change, the housing crisis, social isolation and the related social care crisis.

The Aim
Clients have mealtimes, personal care, and bedtimes to suit them – not dictated by care agency shift times or capacity to meet needs.
Carers receive more than the minimum wage for work that requires great skill and accountability.
Clients and carers are matched with people they get along with.
Our registered carers see disability as another characteristic of human culture and as not a problem.
Clients can take part in social activities and not be excluded due to their carer’s time constraints.
Carers feel supported by us and their peers.
Carers are supported to be passionate about their role and their worth.

More about Greenway Care Connect
Can I use the service if I do not use the internet?
Yes! All you need to do is telephone us on 07376 067 980 or email greenwaycare@southmead.org
We will then arrange a face-to-face appointment to discuss the service with you and do any paperwork together.
Why is Greenway Care Connect better than other care providers?
- Because the service is not-for-profit so the money paid by clients goes to the carer with a small percentage to the community.
- It gives both the client and their carer the autonomy to choose how to work and organise their schedules. This guarantees choice and control.
- Carers receive a thorough screening process which is in place to ensure the safety of clients.
- We give support and advice at the Greenway Centre, Monday – Friday.
- Support plans are personalised ensuring a truly person-centred service.
- With trusted Southmead Development Trust partners we can organise free professional development opportunities for care providers including formal training and peer support.
- It is a system that supports money to stay local.
Who can seek care via Greenway Care Connect?
- Anyone who receives direct payment funding from the local authority.
- Anyone who self-funds their own care.
Who can provide care via Greenway Care Connect?
Self-employed care workers – after they have successfully completed our screening process.
How do I sign up to the service?
Both care seekers and carers need to register via this link> Coming soon!
Once you have completed the registration form we will review it and contact you to arrange a face-to-face appointment.
If you cannot access the form online you can call us on 07376 067 980 or visit us at the Greenway Centre in Southmead.
How does the screening process for care providers work?
- Face-to-Face interview
- Verification of identity
- Verification of training
- Enhanced DBS check and subscription to the DBS update service
- 2 experience and/or character references
- Proof provided of right to work in UK
- Proof of driving licence and business insurance if necessary
- Proof of public liability insurance
- Completed adult safeguard training
After this process care-seekers are invited to interview their potential carers in person so that both can assess if they are a good match.
Who arranges visit schedules?
- During the registration process care-seekers and carers will share their preferred visit schedules with us, either via the online platform or in person.
- Care-seekers and cares with matching schedules, care needs and skills will be able to ask for an introduction.
- Care-seekers will also be able to invite carers to join their support teams via the online platform, or they can ask us to do that on their behalf.
- Care-seekers can have one or more carer, depending on care needs and preference.
- Once all the introduction steps have been completed, the care-seekers and their carer will be fully in charge of their schedule of work, without any intervention from Greenway Care Connect.
How much does the service cost?
- Carers will share their hourly rate with potential clients via the online platform or through us.
- Carers may have different rates for different activities (for instance, one rate for personal care and another rate for other activities of daily living).
- Carers may also have different rates for different times of the day and/or bank holidays; fees will be displayed alongside their experience and qualifications on the online platform which we can help you to look at.
- Regular hourly day rates may range from £14.00 to £20.00 depending on the experience of the carer and their qualifications.
- In addition to the carer’s hourly rate, Greenway Care Connect will charge you an introduction and support fee:
Introduction and support fee
The fee is charged at £3.60 per hour for each hour of paid care.
The introduction and support fee pays for:
- The recruitment and screening process of carers.
- Induction process for the carers and regular updates on changes to social care regulations.
- The assessment of the needs of the care-seeker or of a local authority support plan.
- Continuous face-to-face support for both carers and care-seekers at the Greenway Centre (from Greenway Care Connect staff or signposting to other services when relevant).
- The search for and organisation of training opportunities for carers.
- The organisation of peer support events for carers at the Greenway Centre for the promotion of best practice.
- Invoicing service to those receiving care and payments to carers.
- Making referrals for Adult Social Care assessments and reviews
- Helping clients to apply for grants if available
- Making benefits enquiries
- When you request it, helping to find cover if a Carer is on leave and when more/new Carers are required
- Connecting you to activities in the community and to Occupational Therapy services
Travel costs
Some carers will include expenses in their hourly rate (for example, mileage if they drive their clients), or they might ask for separate payment by providing you with a receipt. You will be able to discuss this with your carer during your interview and it will be recorded in your work agreement with them.
Do care-receivers pay their care providers directly?
We will invoice care-receivers with the frequency instructed by the carer (weekly, fortnightly or monthly). Care-receivers will be able to:
- pay by bank transfer
- by cheque
- in cash at the Greenway Centre.
Greenway Care Connect will invoice clients for the hours of care delivered by their carers plus the introduction fee (12.5% +VAT per hour for the duration of the contract between the care receiver and their care provider).
Direct payments accepted by carers will endanger their ability to secure further work with Greenway Care Connect.
Do carers work on bank holidays?
- Each carer will share with their clients whether they work bank holidays or not.
- Care-seekers will be able to choose whether they want to work with a provider who delivers care on bank holidays or not.
- This can be recorded in work agreements between care providers and their clients.
Will substitute carers be provided due to sickness or holiday?
Care-receivers may ask Greenway Care Connect for a substitute carer if they wish.
It might be that, sometimes, we will not be able to find a substitute carer that meets care-receivers’ needs in the way that their regular carer does, but we will certainly try!
Asking for a new provider with plenty of notice will always increase the chances of finding a right new provider for those who need one.
Whose car will be used when driving clients ?
This needs to be agreed between clients and their carers.
Either way, drivers need to be insured for this activity which means that carers will need to have business car insurance, or care-receivers will need to insure their carers to drive their cars.
Who can care-receivers and carers complain to if they need to?
If care-receiver and carer are unable to resolve an issue individually or in partnership, they can contact Greenway Care Connect for assistance.
Greenway Care Connect can support both parties to find new matches if a relationship between a carer and client breaks down.
Greenway Care Connect will always be open to receiving feedback from its clients and carer partners.
Is Greenway Care Connect a Care Quality Commission registered service?
The CQC does not require introductory agencies or independent carers to register.
Therefore, neither Greenway Care Connect nor the independent carers will be registered with the CQC.
However, the Greenway Care Connect recruitment and induction processes, plus the training opportunities made available by the agency, are based on the relevant CQC fundamental standards:
- Person-centred care
- Dignity and respect
- Consent
- Safety
- Safeguarding from abuse
- Good nutrition
- Complaint opportunities
- Good governance
- Appropriate staffing
- Duty of candour
- Display of any ratings or reviews

Introducing Greenway Care Connect & our new Manager Ceci
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We’re planning Care Connect in Southmead!
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The Northern Arc of Kindness and Support
Read more >Thanks to our professional partners and funders



