Penhill is a residential care home in Shirehampton, Bristol. We provide person-centred personal care for older people, with healthcare delivered in partnership with the local NHS GP and community teams. We do not provide nursing-level care. See also: What Makes a Small, Independent Care Home Different?
We are able to support residents living with very early-stage dementia. As a residential (not nursing) home, we are not equipped to safely care for residents whose dementia has progressed to require specialist nursing or behavioural support.
If you are considering Penhill for a loved one with dementia, please speak with our Home Manager during the assessment so we can give an honest view on whether we can meet their needs.
We continue to provide care while we are confident we can do so safely and well. If a resident’s needs progress to require nursing care or a more specialist environment, we work closely with the family and health professionals to identify the right next step. We do provide end-of-life care at Penhill with support from NHS community services (see below).
Yes. Many of our residents have spent their final years with us, in the surroundings they had come to call home. End-of-life care is delivered at Penhill with the support of NHS district nursing and palliative care teams.
We do offer short-stay respite care in Bristol when a room is available — for example following a hospital discharge or while a regular carer takes a break. Because Penhill is a small home that is consistently full, respite availability is limited. Please call us on 0117 982 2685 to check current availability.
Yes — when availability allows. Room 11 is a large garden-view room that can be configured as either a single room or as a shared companion room for two people. It is most often used as a single, but we are happy to accommodate couples or relatives wishing to share when the room is available.
Visitors are warmly welcomed at Penhill. We do not enforce strict visiting hours, but we ask families to use sensible hours for general visits so the home stays restful for all residents. For end-of-life care or special circumstances, family are welcome to visit at any time of day or night.
Yes. Family members are welcome to stay overnight when needed — for example during illness or end-of-life care. Please let our manager know in advance so we can prepare comfortable arrangements.
Absolutely. We welcome visitors of all ages, and family pets are welcome to visit as well — just mention to our team in advance so we can make sure other residents are comfortable.
Yes. Where residents are able and choose to, they are free to come and go for trips out, shopping, lunch with family or holidays. We just ask families to let our team know in advance so we can plan meals, medication and any care around their plans.
Yes. Residents are free to enjoy a drink — wine with dinner, a sherry in the afternoon or a beer in the lounge — as part of their normal routine and personal preference.
Yes — Penhill is a smoke-free home. We are unfortunately not able to accommodate smoking on the premises.
We consider this on a case-by-case basis. Other residents’ allergies and the practical aspects of pet ownership in a shared home need to be taken into consideration. While we cannot make promises, in most cases dogs and cats are unfortunately not possible. Please raise this during your enquiry so we can talk it through honestly.
Yes. Each room is fully furnished, but residents are warmly encouraged to personalise their space with familiar photos, decorations and small items of furniture wherever possible. Speak to our manager and we will accommodate where it is practical and safe to do so.
Yes. All rooms have a TV, telephone point, nurse call system and WiFi access as standard.
Yes. Daily cleaning and a full laundry service are included in the weekly room rate, alongside all meals, snacks, drinks, utilities and our activities programme.
Yes — residents are typically registered with our local NHS practice, Sea Mills Health Centre, who carry out a weekly GP ward round at Penhill. This ensures coordinated, timely medical care for everyone in the home.
Yes. Visits from NHS health professionals — the GP, district nurses, palliative care, physiotherapists and others — are provided free of charge by the NHS. The home arranges and supports these visits as part of our care.
Yes. Our qualified chef regularly caters for medical diets (diabetic, soft, pureed, low-salt, gluten-free) and for vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher and other religious or cultural dietary needs. Please discuss any specific requirements during your assessment.
Yes. Residents are actively involved in shaping meals through regular forums, resident meetings and one-to-one care reviews. Helping residents feel genuinely at home is at the heart of how we work.
During the daytime the home is staffed by:
At night, two care staff are on duty — both awake and on the floor, not sleep-in. A manager is always on call for any urgent matters.
Care staff receive induction, mandatory training and ongoing supervision appropriate to their roles. This includes areas such as safeguarding, moving and handling, medication, infection prevention and control, fire safety, food hygiene, dementia awareness, person-centred care and health and safety.
Training is refreshed regularly so that staff remain confident, safe and up to date.
Yes — we accept residents whose fees are funded (in part) by Bristol City Council. A third-party top-up is usually required to bridge the gap between the local authority’s standard rate and our weekly room rate. Please contact us to talk through your specific circumstances. For more detail see our guides: Understanding Council Funding for Care Homes in Bristol and Paying for a Care Home: A Plain-English Overview.
Your weekly room rate is genuinely all-inclusive of life at Penhill — accommodation (en-suite where stated), all utilities, daily cleaning and a full laundry service, all home-cooked meals and refreshments, our daily activities programme, and standard personal care from our trained team.
A small number of optional or higher-needs services attract additional costs — full details are on our Fees page. For a broader overview of how care home costs work, see Paying for a Care Home: A Plain-English Overview.
Subject to a successful assessment, the room being prepared and completion of the necessary paperwork, a new resident can typically move in within a few days of enquiry — when a vacancy exists. We can sometimes accommodate urgent admissions, for example following a hospital discharge. Our guide Moving into a Residential Care Home covers the full process step by step.
Each new resident begins with a 4-week trial period. There is no financial commitment beyond the time stayed — the trial exists purely so that the resident, their family and our team can all be confident that Penhill is the right long-term placement before a permanent agreement is made. See our guide Moving into a Residential Care Home for more on what to expect.
The best way to arrange a viewing is to call us on 0117 982 2685 or email mail@penhill.com. Our doors are always open, and Nathan, our Home Manager, will be happy to show you around the home and answer any questions in person. Before your visit, our care home tour checklist has useful questions to ask on the day.
If your question isn’t answered above, please give us a call — we’d be happy to chat.