1. “An independent review of Shared Lives for older people and people living with dementia” – January 2018
Key messages for Wales
For more information, please find the full report at

2. - Unsustainable care market
- 30 care homes less in Wales between 2012 and 2015
- People not getting enough respite as they should be
Social Services & Well-Being Act imposes duties on Local Authorities to work to promote the well-being of those who need care and support
- Personalised care
- Flexible care
- Value for money
What the Shared Lives offer for respite care and day care means for Wales
Challenges
Shared Lives offer
Outcomes
Family/unpaid carers
Service users
Commissioners
Increased wellbeing
Reduced social isolation
Reduced carer breakdown
Increased independence, wellbeing, choice
Reduced social isolation, confusion
Increased sustainability of care provision
Potential healthcare utilisation savings

3. Key message 1
Respite care is important; the challenge is that individuals are not getting as much respite as they should, with “traditional” respite not achieving its full potential
Personalised
A review of literature suggests that “traditional” respite is not achieving its full potential: greater personalisation is needed.
Variation
Whilst quality of care services have improved overall, there is significant variation in the quality of services.
There are 30 fewer care homes in Wales in 2015 than there were in 2012.
Lack of access

4. Key message 2
Evidence shows that Shared Lives is able to offer a good quality, high impact solution to this challenge
Quality
Shared Lives respite care and day support provides a personalised, flexible service, which has been shown to deliver high quality care to service users, carers, and commissioners.
Carers
For carers, the Shared Lives model has been shown to deliver increased wellbeing, reduced feelings of social isolation, and reduced likelihood of carer breakdown.
For service users, the Shared Lives model has been shown to deliver a variety of benefits, including increased independence, choice, and control
Service users

5. Key message 3
The costs of the Shared Lives approach are broadly in line with (and in some cases more affordable) than "traditional" respite provision
Comparable
The evidence suggests that Shared Lives day care provision is in line with the costs that commissioners would expect to pay for “traditional” day care provision in Wales – there is less than 3% difference between the average costs
Affordable
Local authority-run Shared Lives respite schemes are on average cheaper in Wales than “traditional” forms.
£8.44 hourly cost for day care for a Shared Lives local authority-run scheme compared to £8.68 for "traditional" forms
£78 per short break for a Shared Lives local authority-run scheme compared to £79.61 for "traditional" forms.
Costs

6. Key message 4
Shared Lives is likely to be an important option for commissioners seeking to meet their market sustainability duties
Legislation
Legislation (e.g Social Services and Well-Being Act) emphasises the duty for Local Authorities to provide sustainable, high quality support for its carers
Comparison
Pricing approach offered by “traditional” providers of respite care may cross-subsidise, and not take into account the “true cost”,
Sustainable
Shared Lives’ approach focuses on ensuring costs are fully recovered so that the service can be both sustainable, and available

7. Key message 5
The Shared Lives approach has great potential to make savings in terms of reduced reliance on more expensive health services
Impact
Evidence suggests that carer breakdown or fatigue was a significant factor behind 62% of hospital readmissions
Solution
The positive outcomes from Shared Lives could lead to reduced requirement for health services
Savings
Reducing usage of health services has the potential to lead to cashable savings for health commissioners