- Homecare service
Independent Living Alternatives
Assessment report published 13 July 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 12 March to 9 April 2026. The service is a care at home service providing support to 19 adults who have physical disabilities and live in their own homes. Independent Living Alternatives also supported people who did not receive personal care and in ways outside of our legal remit such as supporting people in the workplace. We did not assess these aspects of their organisation.
The ethos of the service is to promote the rights of disabled people, by placing the person in control of the management of the care they received, as the provider’s policy was only those people who had mental capacity could use the service so they would manage their own care. This was a central part of their values, promoting the rights of disabled people to live normal lives. This control included training staff, choosing staff to be part of their care team, and alerting the management if there were any concerns or issues, rather than the emphasis being on care staff doing this. The policy of the organisation was to also only provide care to people who had live in care or block hours of arranged care, such as 4 hours at a time.
Despite these positives the registered manager and provider were not always fulfilling their regulatory responsibilities. They were not auditing the quality of the care provided and reviewing actions taken when a concern was raised. Staff were not being given with clear care plans and robust risk assessments to follow. The provider and registered manager had also not ensured staff were fully trained and competent in their work. Nor were they checking the work completed by staff fitted with their organisation’s policies, for example for staff to not administer people’s medicines. The provider and registered manager were not always being mindful of all their legal requirements when managing and delivering the regulated activity of personal care.
There were 2 breaches of the regulations and fundamental standards in relation to ineffective governance and not ensuring staff were competent and trained.
There were other aspects of the management and delivery of the care which fulfilled the regulatory requirements of the registered manager and provider. People received a person-centred care experience which they were in control of. There was a process in place to raise a concern and complaint. However, further work was needed to ensure the registered manager and provider was compliant and fully understood all their legal responsibilities when delivering the regulated activity of personal care.
People's experience of this service
People spoke well of the staff who supported them day to day with their personal care needs. People confirmed they were happy with the staff who supported them. One person said they liked their staff and the service, “Because of their professionalism, the rapport we have, and I’ve been with them a long time.” A person’s relative said, “[Name of person] loves them [staff].”
People felt in control of their care, if they needed to address an issue about staff practice, they said they did this themselves or they would seek the assistance of the registered manager, who they were all familiar with. People recommended the ‘service’ because it gave them what they wanted, they trusted and felt able to work with staff. People told us staff respected they were the ones in control. As 1 person said, “I am in control and I decide everything.” A further person said, “I’m the boss and they [staff] do as I tell them.”
While the people we spoke with were generally happy with their care, our assessment found elements of their care which did not meet the expected standards.