Date published: October 8, 2026
Live More roundtable brings national dementia, health and social care voices together and premieres new film
After a dementia diagnosis, many people receive little support and only turn to health and social care support at exhaustion – prompting a crisis response and impacting the wellbeing of the person living with dementia but also their families.
Live More with Shared Lives set out to reach people earlier and support people living with dementia and their families to stay active and connected to the people, places, and hobbies they love. Yesterday a new film showing the impact of Live More with Shared Lives in Greater Manchester premiered at a national roundtable exploring how earlier support could help people living with dementia and their families.
Shared Lives Plus and The Rayne Foundation hosted the Live More, Live Well roundtable in London on Wednesday 7 October, bringing together people from across dementia, health, social care and community support.
The event followed the publication of the Live More evaluation report, which explored the impact of offering Shared Lives support earlier to people living with dementia and their families across Greater Manchester.
Around 70 people took part in the six-month pilot. The evaluation found that Live More helped people stay active, connected and involved in everyday life, while strengthening relationships and supporting families to keep caring for the people they love.
Seeing what Live More means in people’s lives
Guests watched the new Live More film, featuring John and Jean with Shared Lives carer Joe; Netta and Shared Lives carer Tricia; and Joyce and her daughter Jayne.
Their stories show what the support can look like day to day – spending time together, getting out and about, visiting a Shared Lives carer’s home, sharing interests and building trusting relationships.
The film also features an introduction from Andy Burnham, who helped launch the pilot as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
From Greater Manchester to a wider conversation
Hazel Summers from Partners in Health and Care chaired the roundtable, where speakers explored what the learning from Live More could mean for dementia support more widely.
Speakers included Professor Jugdeep Dhesi, President of the British Geriatrics Society and co-Chair of the Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework task and finish group, and James Mackie from the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care. Organisations represented at the event included Meeting Centres Scotland, Manchester Camerata, Alzheimer’s Society, Newton Europe, the National Academy for Social Prescribing, NHS Greater Manchester and IMPACT.
Suzi Clarke from Shared Lives Plus and Neil Crowther, an independent social change consultant, shared learning from the Greater Manchester pilot.
What happens next
Ewan King, Chief Executive of Shared Lives Plus, welcomed guests to the event and said:
“We know there is a huge gap in support for people living with dementia and their families, particularly in the early stages when the right help could make such a difference. The impact on people’s health, wellbeing and relationships is enormous, and the cost of waiting until people reach crisis point is simply unsustainable.
“There are excellent initiatives like Live More happening across the country, but too often they exist in isolation. We need to bring this work together and build a compelling case for investing in support that works – showing not only the difference it makes to people’s lives but also how it can make better use of public money.
“Shared Lives Plus wants to work with people living with dementia, families and organisations across health, social care and beyond to make earlier, preventative support available to more people. Today’s discussion is an important step towards making that happen.”
The roundtable explored how successful approaches like Live More could become part of a wider network of early support for people living with dementia and their families.
Shared Lives Plus will now look to build on the discussion, bringing together organisations, partners and people living with dementia to strengthen the case for investment and explore how effective approaches can reach more people.
