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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Shared Accommodation Management Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that any use of shared bedroom accommodation within {{org_field_name}} complies with the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, and applicable statutory guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers.

Single-room accommodation is the normal requirement for individuals accommodated in a care home service. Shared bedroom accommodation must only be used where the applicable statutory conditions are fully satisfied.

For adults, shared accommodation will only be provided where the conditions specified in Regulation 45 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, are met. This includes the adult agreeing to share, sharing being consistent with the well-being of both adults, the personal plans of both adults having been reviewed and revised as necessary, and compliance with the statutory limit on the proportion of adults accommodated in shared rooms, except where a lawful transitional exception applies.

Where the service accommodates children, children will be provided with single bedrooms unless the specific exception contained in Regulation 46 applies.

{{org_field_name}} will ensure that any shared accommodation protects and promotes each individual’s privacy, dignity, safety, well-being, autonomy, personal outcomes and rights and that the accommodation remains suitable for each person throughout the period of sharing.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• all individuals accommodated by {{org_field_name}};
• the Responsible Individual, registered manager and all staff involved in admission, assessment, personal planning, accommodation decisions, care delivery and review;
• agency workers, volunteers and other persons working at the service where their duties relate to individuals’ accommodation;
• visitors and external professionals where access to shared bedrooms may affect the privacy, dignity or confidentiality of either occupant.

This policy applies whenever the use or continued use of a shared bedroom is being considered.

For adults, the service will comply with Regulation 45 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended.

Where children are accommodated, the service will comply with Regulation 46 of those Regulations.

Nothing in this policy authorises the service to provide shared accommodation where the statutory conditions permitting a shared room are not satisfied.

Any use of shared accommodation must also be consistent with the service’s Statement of Purpose, the individual’s assessed care and support needs, personal outcomes and personal plan.

3. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

This policy will be implemented in accordance with applicable legislation and statutory guidance, including:

• the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, as amended;
• the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, including Regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 25, 44, 45, 46 where applicable, 56 and 57;
• the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024;
• the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014;
• the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the applicable Code of Practice;
• the Equality Act 2010;
• the Human Rights Act 1998, including respect for private and family life;
• applicable Welsh Government statutory guidance for service providers and Responsible Individuals; and
• applicable requirements, guidance and enforcement expectations of Care Inspectorate Wales.

Where the service provides accommodation for children, regard will also be had to the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 as amended by the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025 and to the service’s current CIW registration and Statement of Purpose.

The service will ensure that its premises, facilities and bedrooms meet the requirements applicable to the premises under the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended.

4. Admission and Suitability for Shared Accommodation

4.1 Adults: Requirements Before Shared Accommodation Is Provided

Adults will ordinarily be accommodated in single rooms.

An adult must not be placed in a shared bedroom unless the requirements of Regulation 45 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, have been satisfied.

Before an adult shares a bedroom, the registered manager or an appropriately authorised and competent person must confirm and document that:

• the adult agrees to sharing the room with another adult;
• sharing the room is consistent with the well-being of both adults;
• the personal plans of both adults have been reviewed and revised as necessary to reflect the proposed sharing arrangement;
• the proposed arrangement is consistent with the assessed care and support needs, personal outcomes, wishes, feelings, routines and relevant risks of both adults;
• compatibility and any foreseeable effect of the arrangement on either adult or other individuals receiving the service have been considered;
• the room itself is suitable for shared occupation and provides sufficient space, appropriate facilities, comfort, freedom of movement and privacy for both adults, taking account of their equipment and the staff support required;
• the proposed arrangement is consistent with the service’s Statement of Purpose and conditions of registration; and
• the number of adults accommodated in shared rooms will not exceed 15% of the total number of adults accommodated by the service, unless the service can demonstrate that a specific statutory transitional exception lawfully applies.

The discussions with the adults concerned, any appropriately involved representative and relevant professionals, together with the assessment, decision and reasons for the decision, must be recorded.

An individual’s agreement to share must be genuine and must not be assumed from silence, lack of objection or previous sharing arrangements.

Where an adult has capacity to decide whether to share a bedroom, that adult must make the decision.

Where there is reason to believe that an adult lacks capacity to make the particular decision about shared accommodation, the service will follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Capacity will be assessed in relation to that specific decision and any action or decision taken on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must comply with the statutory principles and best-interests requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. A representative will only make a decision on behalf of an adult where the representative has lawful authority relevant to that decision.

4.2 Reviewing Adult Shared Accommodation

The suitability and lawfulness of a shared-room arrangement must remain under review.

The shared accommodation arrangement will be reviewed whenever:

• either adult indicates that they no longer wish to share;
• either adult’s care and support needs, risks, capacity, behaviour, communication needs, health or personal outcomes change;
• the arrangement adversely affects either adult’s privacy, dignity, safety, well-being, sleep, relationships or ability to achieve their personal outcomes;
• a safeguarding concern or significant conflict occurs;
• either adult’s personal plan is reviewed and information arises that may affect the suitability of sharing; or
• there is any other reason to believe that the requirements permitting shared accommodation may no longer be satisfied.

The service must not treat an individual’s original agreement to sharing as permanent or irrevocable.

Where an adult no longer agrees to share, or any other statutory condition permitting the shared arrangement is no longer satisfied, the registered manager must take prompt action to make alternative lawful accommodation arrangements.

Personal plans and relevant risk assessments must be reviewed and revised whenever required by a change in the shared accommodation arrangement.

4.3 Shared Rooms for Children

This subsection applies where {{org_field_name}} is registered and authorised to provide accommodation to children.

Children must be accommodated in single bedrooms unless all of the applicable requirements of Regulation 46 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, are satisfied.

A child may only share a bedroom under the statutory exception where:

• the accommodation is provided in a care home service that was registered as a children’s home under the Care Standards Act 2000;
• the accommodation concerned was occupied at the time the service provider was registered under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016;
• the child shares with no more than one other child;
• except where the children are siblings, the other child is not of the opposite sex or of a significantly different age;
• sharing will promote the child’s well-being;
• sharing is provided for in the child’s care and support plan; and
• wherever practicable, the child agrees to sharing.

The discussion concerning the proposed sharing arrangement, the child’s wishes and feelings, consultation with relevant persons and professionals, the assessment undertaken and the reasons for the decision must be documented.

If the statutory requirements for sharing are not satisfied, the child must be accommodated in a single bedroom.

5. Personal Rights, Privacy and Dignity

5.1 Privacy, Dignity and Accommodation

Individuals sharing a bedroom retain the same rights to privacy, dignity, confidentiality, autonomy and respectful care as individuals accommodated in single rooms.

A shared bedroom must:

• contain appropriate facilities to meet the assessed care and support needs of both occupants;
• be of an adequate size taking account of the fact that the room is shared, its layout and furniture, equipment required by either occupant and the number of staff required to meet either occupant’s needs;
• be comfortable for both occupants;
• allow both occupants sufficient freedom of movement;
• provide effective privacy for both occupants;
• allow care and support, including personal and intimate care, to be delivered safely and with dignity;
• provide suitable space for each individual’s personal belongings and activities; and
• contain appropriate arrangements for secure storage of personal possessions, money, valuables and, where applicable, medicines.

Where required to protect privacy, suitable screens, curtains or other appropriate measures will be provided. Such measures must not create avoidable safety risks or prevent staff from meeting the assessed needs of either occupant.

Bedrooms will be furnished and arranged having regard to each individual’s wishes, preferences, assessed needs and personal outcomes.

Where bedroom doors are fitted with locks, individuals will be enabled to use them in accordance with their abilities and wishes unless an individual risk assessment demonstrates that an alternative arrangement is necessary and lawful.

5.2 Personalisation

Each individual will be supported to personalise their own area of the shared bedroom, subject to applicable health and safety requirements and the rights of the other occupant.

Personalisation arrangements must respect the preferences, belongings, privacy, dignity and protected characteristics of both occupants.

Any disagreement concerning the use or personalisation of shared space will be addressed in consultation with both individuals and, where appropriate, their representatives.

5.3 Private Meetings and Visits

The service will maintain suitable facilities enabling individuals to meet visitors in private in a space separate from their own bedroom.

Individuals must not be required to hold private, confidential or sensitive discussions in a shared bedroom where doing so would compromise the privacy or confidentiality of either occupant.

6. Conflict Resolution and Changes to Shared Accommodation

6.1 Identifying Concerns

Staff must remain alert to any indication that a shared accommodation arrangement is adversely affecting either occupant’s well-being, privacy, dignity, safety, relationships, personal outcomes or ability to enjoy their home.

Individuals must be enabled to raise concerns about their accommodation without fear of adverse treatment.

Any concern relating to a shared room must be listened to, recorded and addressed promptly.

6.2 Responding to Conflict or Withdrawal of Agreement

Where a disagreement or conflict arises, staff may support the individuals to resolve the issue where this is appropriate and consistent with their wishes and well-being.

Mediation or behaviour-support measures must not be used to override an individual’s rights or to continue a shared arrangement that no longer satisfies the legal requirements for shared accommodation.

Where conflict, distress, safeguarding concerns or changing needs indicate that sharing may no longer be consistent with either individual’s well-being, the arrangement must be reassessed promptly. Relevant personal plans and risk assessments must be reviewed and revised as necessary.

Where an adult withdraws their agreement to sharing, or another condition required by Regulation 45 is no longer satisfied, alternative lawful accommodation arrangements must be made as promptly as reasonably practicable, with appropriate measures taken in the meantime to protect the rights, privacy, dignity, safety and well-being of both individuals.

Any decision and action taken must be documented.

7. Health and Safety in Shared Accommodation

7.1 Infection Prevention and Control

The service will maintain satisfactory standards of hygiene and will operate effective policies and procedures for infection prevention and control in accordance with Regulation 56 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended.

Where an individual occupying a shared bedroom develops, or is suspected of having, an infectious illness, an individual infection-risk assessment will be undertaken and appropriate infection prevention and control measures will be implemented without delay.

Decisions about whether either occupant should temporarily use alternative accommodation must not be automatic. They must take account of:

• current infection prevention and control guidance;
• the nature and route of transmission of the infection;
• advice from relevant health professionals where required;
• the assessed needs and well-being of both occupants;
• the individual’s rights, wishes and mental capacity where relevant;
• the suitability and safety of any alternative accommodation; and
• any other measures capable of reducing the risk of transmission.

Staff must follow the Infection Prevention and Control Policy (CHW17) and applicable public-health guidance.

7.2 Fire Safety and Emergency Procedures

Shared accommodation must be managed in accordance with applicable fire-safety legislation, the service’s fire risk assessment, fire-safety procedures and individual evacuation requirements.

The service must ensure that:

• escape routes are maintained and kept appropriately clear;
• the occupancy, furniture, equipment and privacy arrangements within a shared room do not compromise safe evacuation;
• individual emergency evacuation needs are assessed and recorded where required;
• staff understand the actions required in an emergency;
• fire practices, drills and testing of fire equipment are undertaken at frequencies determined by applicable fire-safety requirements, the fire risk assessment and the service’s fire procedures; and
• required records of fire practices, drills, testing and remedial actions are maintained.

Any equipment or call system provided within a shared bedroom must be appropriate to the assessed needs of the occupants, accessible to them and maintained in safe working order.

7.3 Security, Safeguarding and Room Access

The service must provide the service in a way that ensures individuals are safe and protected from abuse, neglect and improper treatment while also respecting their privacy, dignity, confidentiality and autonomy.

Staff must not enter or routinely check a shared bedroom without appropriate justification.

The frequency and nature of any observation, welfare check or staff access to a bedroom must be based upon the assessed needs and risks of the individuals concerned and recorded within their personal plans or associated risk assessments where appropriate.

Except in an emergency or where immediate action is necessary to protect a person from harm, staff should respect the occupants’ privacy before entering the bedroom.

Any safeguarding concern arising from a shared accommodation arrangement must be acted upon immediately in accordance with the service’s safeguarding policy and the Wales Safeguarding Procedures. The suitability of continued sharing must also be reviewed.

8. Maintenance and Cleanliness of Shared Spaces

8.1 Housekeeping Standards

• Daily cleaning will be carried out to maintain a hygienic and comfortable environment.
• Residents will be encouraged to take responsibility for personal belongings and maintain their area.

8.2 Reporting Maintenance Issues

• Faulty equipment, leaks, or damage must be reported immediately.
• Repairs will be prioritised based on risk level, ensuring shared rooms remain safe and functional.

9. Visitors and External Professional Access to Shared Rooms

9.1 Visitors

Individuals must be supported to maintain relationships and receive visitors in accordance with their wishes, subject to proportionate arrangements required to protect their own well-being or the well-being and rights of others.

Because a shared bedroom is the private space of both occupants, the wishes, privacy and dignity of both individuals must be considered before a visitor is received within that room.

Agreement by one occupant to a visitor entering the bedroom does not remove the other occupant’s right to privacy.

The service will provide suitable facilities for individuals to meet visitors privately in a space separate from their bedrooms.

Where receiving a visitor in a shared bedroom would interfere with the privacy, dignity, rest, care or expressed wishes of the other occupant, a suitable alternative private space will be offered.

Visitor arrangements affecting shared accommodation must be individualised rather than imposed solely through general visiting hours.

9.2 External Professionals

Healthcare professionals, social workers, advocates, inspectors and other external professionals must respect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of both occupants of a shared bedroom.

Except where lawful authority or an emergency requires otherwise, entry into the bedroom will take account of the wishes and consent of the individuals concerned.

Assessments, examinations, care discussions and other confidential conversations must be conducted in a manner that protects confidentiality.

Where confidentiality cannot be adequately protected within the shared room, an appropriate private space must be made available.

Nothing in this section prevents Care Inspectorate Wales or another person with lawful statutory authority from exercising a lawful power of entry, inspection or access.

10. Training and Staff Responsibilities

10.1 Staff Knowledge and Training

Staff whose duties involve accommodation decisions, assessment, personal planning or support to individuals occupying shared rooms must receive information, instruction and training appropriate to their role.

This must include, where relevant:

• the statutory requirement for single-room accommodation and the limited circumstances in which shared rooms are permitted;
• Regulation 45 requirements for adults;
• Regulation 46 requirements where children are accommodated;
• privacy, dignity, confidentiality and human rights;
• the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and decision-specific capacity where relevant;
• assessment of well-being and risk;
• personal-plan requirements;
• safeguarding;
• infection prevention and control; and
• fire and emergency procedures relevant to shared accommodation.

Staff must have access to this policy and relevant related policies and must understand their responsibilities.

10.2 Staff Responsibilities

Staff must:

• respect the privacy, dignity, wishes and personal space of both occupants of a shared bedroom;
• follow each individual’s personal plan and relevant risk assessments;
• report promptly any indication that a shared arrangement is adversely affecting either individual’s well-being;
• report any withdrawal of agreement to sharing to the registered manager without delay;
• protect confidentiality when providing care or discussing personal information;
• avoid unnecessary entry into shared bedrooms;
• record concerns, incidents and significant changes accurately;
• follow safeguarding, infection prevention and control, fire-safety and health-and-safety procedures; and
• escalate immediately any situation in which the legal requirements permitting continued sharing may no longer be satisfied.

The registered manager is responsible for ensuring that shared accommodation decisions are made, recorded, implemented and reviewed in accordance with this policy and the applicable Regulations.

11. Monitoring and Records

The registered manager must maintain sufficient records to demonstrate that every shared accommodation arrangement complies with the applicable statutory requirements.

For each adult shared-room arrangement, records must demonstrate:

• that each adult agreed to sharing;
• how the service determined that sharing was consistent with the well-being of both adults;
• that both adults’ personal plans were reviewed and revised as necessary;
• the compatibility, risk and accommodation assessments undertaken;
• consultation and discussions with the individuals and any appropriately involved representative or professional;
• the decision reached and reasons for that decision;
• subsequent reviews and any changes made; and
• that the service complied with the maximum proportion of adults permitted to be accommodated in shared rooms under Regulation 45, unless a specific statutory exception applies.

Where children share under the exception contained in Regulation 46, the service must maintain records demonstrating that all applicable conditions of that Regulation are satisfied.

The registered manager must monitor the overall use of shared accommodation and take prompt action where any arrangement ceases to satisfy the statutory requirements.

Records relating to shared accommodation must be available for regulatory inspection in accordance with applicable record-keeping requirements.

12. Related Policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

• Safeguarding Adults from Abuse and Improper Treatment Policy (CHW13);
• Health and Safety at Work Policy (CHW16);
• Infection Prevention and Control Policy (CHW17);
• Risk Management and Assessment Policy (CHW18);
• Fire Safety and Evacuation Procedures (CHW20);
• Admissions and Commencement of Service Policy;
• Personal Planning and Review procedures;
• Mental Capacity and Deprivation of Liberty procedures; and
• Complaints Policy.

13. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where required.

An earlier review must be undertaken where there is:

• a change to applicable legislation or regulations;
• a change to Welsh Government statutory guidance;
• a relevant change to Care Inspectorate Wales requirements or regulatory guidance;
• a change to the service’s Statement of Purpose or conditions of registration;
• learning arising from an incident, safeguarding concern, complaint, audit or inspection; or
• evidence that the policy is no longer effective in ensuring compliance with the applicable statutory requirements.

Any amendments required to maintain compliance must be implemented without waiting for the scheduled annual review.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
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