Shared Lives intermediate care: evaluation report
Author(s)
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEAM FOR INCLUSION
Publisher(s):
National Development Team for Inclusion
Publication year:
2019
An evaluation of Shared Lives intermediate care, a pilot programme to develop Shared Lives as a ‘home from hospital’ service for older people. The evaluation looks at the impact of the programme for people who are ready to leave hospital, but unable to return home. It draws on qualitative data from people in Shared Lives arrangements, Shared Lives carers, health and social care professionals, as well as data gathered from the seven pilot sites. The findings show that by the end of the Shared Lives Intermediate Care Pilot programme, which ran from October 2016-April 2019, there had been 31 home from hospital referrals into a Shared Lives arrangement. This included people with learning disability, mental health problems and physical disability. Although referrals were low, overall the evaluation demonstrate the potential benefits of Shared Lives Intermediate Care for the health outcomes of people with multiple or complex needs, in particular, people with mental health issues. Key challenges experienced by the pilots included getting health professionals to trust the Shared Lives model and make referrals. There were also capacity and resource issues, with two sites withdrawing from the pilots. The report makes recommendations for Shared Lives Schemes and services. (Edited publisher abstract)
