Lifeways: ITV News uncover neglect of people with learning disabilities in supported living

An ITV News investigation has exposed allegations of multiple failings at residential and supported living homes run by Lifeways, which is contracted to provide support to adults with learning disabilities and other complex conditions.  

This report, which was broadcast earlier this week (3rd March), revealed how Connor, a young man who is autistic and has learning disabilities and bipolar disorder, was neglected. Lifeways was being paid £4700 a week to provide 24/7, one-to-one support.  However, a camera – installed by Connor’s mother after she grew concerned about the support he was receiving – showed that he was frequently either left alone, ignored or insulted by his support workers. In one case, this lack of 24/7 support resulted in Connor eating out of a bin for almost an hour in the middle of the night. 

The report also shared the experiences of Steven, who lived in a Lifeways supported living house for multiple years. During this time, Steven’s foot became seriously infected but this was not acted upon until his father found out by chance when his son was already in the hospital. 

During this investigation, ITV News spoke to current and former staff at Lifeways who raised their concerns and fears about regular and unsafe understaffing and a lack of training which prevented them from being able to provide high-quality support. Financial analysis conducted during the investigation highlighted that, despite receiving almost £1.5bn in taxpayer-funded contracts since 2016 and having a revenue of £295m last year, support worker roles were being advertised for minimum wage. Staff ITV spoke to raised their concerns that the services run by Lifeways were not receiving enough money to be able to provide a good quality of life. 

Jacqui Shurlock, CEO of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation said:  

We know families will be worried about what we have seen in the ITV news report this week. It is appalling to see the impact on Connor and Steven.   

This report focused on failings within services run by one organisation, however sadly these issues are not unique to Lifeways. People with learning disabilities have the right to high-quality support to live a good life, safe from harm and neglect.   

Everyone responsible for supporting people with learning disabilities must learn from these failings so we do not treat each case as an isolated incident but instead work together to uphold people’s rights.

You can watch the ITV News report and read the written story here.

Support from the CBF

Resources on our website

The CBF has information available for anyone who has concerns about the issues raised which can be found here:

When things go wrong

Supporting organisations

This investigation also highlighted the crucial advocacy role played by family members. Both Connor’s mother Lindsay and Steven’s father John advocated for their relatives, identifying the neglect that they were facing. Our Family Carer Advocacy Resource provides information for families about their relative’s rights and their own rights, as well as what advocacy support they and their relative are entitled to. 

Family Carer Advocacy Resource

Family Support Service

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this report, you can call the Family Support Service on 0300 666 0126

Or email us at support@thecbf.org.uk

We are open at the following times:

Monday – Thursday: 9am – 5pm
Friday: 9am – 3pm

We offer information about challenging behaviour to anyone who provides support to a child, young person or adult with a severe learning disability. We can also signpost you to other specialist organisations and sources of information.

Please note we are a small support service so you may not be able to get support straight away. We will support families with urgent concerns as a priority.

Professionals are also welcome to contact the CBF.