Private clients
Private specialist home care for adults with complex needs.
For families who are self-funding and want more than a standard care rota — bespoke home and lifestyle support for adults with autism, learning disabilities, mental health needs and complex behaviours.
We work across Bristol and South Gloucestershire with adults whose needs are emotional, slow to resolve and rarely linear. Our focus is on building small, stable teams that help life feel calmer, safer and more workable over time.
Book a confidential consultationRequest an indicative fee range
CQC registered · rated Good
ISO 9001 + ISO 45001
Small, stable teams
Every package reviewed by a senior manager
FIRST CONVERSATIONS
When families first contact us
Many of the families who reach us are tired. Often they have been holding a situation together themselves for years, and are beginning to ask the questions they have spent a long time not asking out loud.
Some are exhausted by the practical weight of providing support that has slowly become more complex than they can sustain. Some have tried previous arrangements that looked right on paper and never settled in practice. Some have an adult son or daughter whose needs were always going to need more than standard services, and the family has been managing alone.
And almost all of them, sooner or later, ask the same quiet question — about what happens when they can no longer hold this together themselves. We answer that question with the same calm we bring to everything else.
Who this is for
Many of the families who contact us are looking for private specialist home care for adults whose needs have simply outgrown standard services. They are often exhausted by changing staff, repeated crises, or support packages that look fine on paper but do not hold in real life.
We are usually a good fit for adults who are autistic, have a learning disability, ADHD, long-term mental health needs, behavioural distress, or a combination of these. Some families are fully self-funding; others combine private funds with direct payments or personal budgets.
If you are not sure whether your situation falls within our remit, a short confidential conversation will usually make that clear quite quickly.
Private autism, learning disability and mental health support at home
Private autism and learning disability support in Bristol and South Gloucestershire
Many of the adults we support are autistic or have learning disabilities, with anxiety, sensory needs or behaviours that other services have struggled to hold. Our support focuses on predictable routines, communication that works for the person, and carefully matched staff who stay long enough to make a real difference.
Private mental health support at home when standard services haven’t held
Some families come to us after repeated crises, short-term packages or home-care rotas that simply were not built for complex mental health. We provide stable day-to-day structure, calm relationships and practical support so therapy and treatment have a better chance to work in ordinary life.
What makes our approach different
We are not a one-hour-visit agency and we are not a revolving-door service. We build support around the person, then run it with serious governance behind the scenes.
Small, stable teams
We keep teams intentionally small. In many cases, the same two or three workers rotate through the home week after week, so trust has a chance to build.
Tailored around the person
Support is designed around what genuinely works for the individual — their routines, communication, sensory preferences, pace and goals — not what fits a generic rota.
Senior oversight, formally framed
Every package has senior oversight from Vierka Hiscock, Director, who reads every safeguarding referral and signs every contract. Faster decisions, clearer accountability.
What a self-funded package can look like
Every package is bespoke, but private support with Care Horizons often includes a mix of the following:
- Daily or weekly visits to create calmer, more stable routines at home
- Personal care, medication prompts, meals and household tasks
- Community access, appointments, travel and social activities
- Emotional support and structure alongside therapy or mental health treatment
- Independent living mentoring — routines, money, boundaries, practical life skills
- Gradual step-up from light-touch support to more intensive daily or 24-hour packages when needed
Some families begin with a small number of hours each week and increase over time. Others come to us because they need a carefully built package quickly after another arrangement has broken down.
From first conversation to first visit
01
Confidential consultation
A no-obligation phone or video call. You share your situation, what has and hasn’t worked, and what you would like to change.
02
Honest view on fit
We are honest about whether we are likely to be a good fit. If not, we will say so — often suggesting who might be.
03
Indicative proposal and fee range
If there appears to be a good fit, we outline a proposed package and give you an indicative monthly cost or range.
04
Detailed planning
We then develop a more detailed plan around hours, staffing, routines, goals and any professional input already in place.
05
Team matching and start date
You meet the proposed core staff. We agree start dates and plan the first weeks carefully.
06
Review and refinement
Once support begins, we review it properly and adjust where needed. Our aim is not just to start support, but to make it hold.
SAFETY & GOVERNANCE
The framework behind the work
A private package is held inside the same regulated framework as everything else we do. The Care Quality Commission has inspected and rated us Good. We are certified to ISO 9001:2015 (cert 282832018, valid to 07/05/2028) and ISO 45001:2018 (cert 374412021, valid to 01/07/2028). Citation Quiqcare keeps our compliance evidence current rather than annual.
Vierka Hiscock is the Registered Manager and Nominated Individual. We are members of the South Gloucestershire Adult Strategic Safeguarding Board and insured through Marsh Commercial. Evidence available on request.
Working alongside your existing professionals
Many private clients already have a network around them — therapists, psychiatrists, GPs, social workers, deputies, solicitors, case managers. We are used to working alongside existing professionals and implementing agreed plans in the reality of day-to-day life.
Where appropriate, we contribute to reviews, provide written updates, and help create a more joined-up support picture around the person.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with privately funded clients?
Yes. Many of our enquiries come from families who are self-funding support fully or partly and want a more tailored, stable service than standard provision can offer.
What kinds of needs do you support?
We commonly support adults with autism, learning disabilities, ADHD, mental health needs, behavioural distress, Parkinson’s, dementia and combinations of complex needs that require a more individualised approach.
Can support start small and increase later?
Yes. Some families begin with a smaller package and increase support as trust builds or needs change. Others need a more intensive package from the start.
How quickly can support begin?
For urgent situations — a hospital discharge, a sudden change, a caregiver who needs immediate respite — we can usually begin support within days of the first conversation. For planned packages, the typical lead time is 1-2 weeks once a fit has been agreed.
Do you only work in Bristol and South Gloucestershire?
Our core work is in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, though we also work in selected partner areas. The best way to check current coverage is to contact us directly.
WHY FAMILIES SELF-FUND
Why families decide to fund support privately
Public-sector support exists, and for many families it is the right route. The families who come to us privately do so for reasons we hear repeated again and again.
Support needs to start sooner
Assessments, panels, and funding decisions take time. When a situation is becoming harder to manage at home, waiting months is not always realistic. Private support can begin within days of the first conversation.
Support needs to be shaped around the person
Local-authority packages sit inside commissioning frameworks. They can be excellent, but they are framework-shaped. A private package can be built precisely around the person, the family, the home, and the day.
Previous arrangements have not held
Some families come to us after several agencies. They are tired of staff changes, missed visits, and services that looked good on paper. By the time they reach us, what they want is something that will stay.
They are planning for the future
Many of the parents who contact us are beginning to think carefully about what happens when they can no longer provide the support themselves. Putting the right team in place now, while they are still able to oversee it, is a deliberate choice. We help families do that, gently, on their own timescale.
Real examples
The kind of support we provide
Tom
Autism & anxiety · Privately funded
Tom is autistic and highly anxious. By his early thirties, his parents were still doing almost everything — appointments, money, meals, crisis management — on top of their own health and work. Several support packages had been tried, but teams changed constantly and nothing held for long.
Tom’s parents decided to privately fund a small, stable team. We started with weekly visits and stepped up to daily support as trust grew. Three years on, Tom has a predictable routine with two core workers he knows well, his parents are no longer on call for every crisis, and conversations about the future feel possible again.
Helen
Anxiety & low confidence · Privately funded
Helen lives alone and has long-term anxiety and low confidence. She did not meet the threshold for a large commissioned package, but day-to-day life was slowly shrinking — unopened post, missed appointments, very little time outside the house. Her adult daughter decided to privately fund a small amount of weekly support to see if it made any difference.
We began with two short visits a week focused on practical tasks and gentle confidence-building — opening post together, planning simple meals, one short walk to the local shop. Over time, Helen chose to increase support slightly. A year on, she is keeping on top of her home, attending key appointments and leaving the house regularly with someone she knows and trusts — without her daughter having to carry everything alone.
A return home after long mental health admission
Mental health step-down · Mixed funding
One client returned home after a long mental health admission. Several services had struggled to maintain a workable package alongside her complex mental health needs. Our role was to provide the day-to-day consistency that allowed treatment, safety planning and ordinary life to start working together again.
Three years on, she lives independently with two visits a week. The package was originally part-privately funded and is now fully commissioned through a personal budget — we have stayed throughout.
Confidential enquiry
If this sounds like what you’ve been looking for
If you are privately funding support for an adult with complex needs and need something more thoughtful, stable and accountable than standard provision, the best next step is a confidential conversation.
We will listen carefully, tell you honestly whether we believe we are the right fit, and outline what the next steps could look like. The information you share is treated in confidence. We will usually respond within one working day.
or email [email protected] with a brief outline of your situation.
We will usually reply within one working day.
If you would prefer not to fill in a form, ring us.
There is no call centre. Enquiries are handled by our Service Manager Jo Sparrow and Deputy Manager Jessica White — both long-standing senior members of Care Horizons — with oversight from Vierka Hiscock on every case.