A Lifetime of Love: Liz Prebble named Surrey’s Care Worker of the Year
I am incredibly proud that our Surrey Choices’ Shared Lives Team were Highly Commended for the 2025 Impact Award from Shared Lives Plus, a real testament to the innovation, collaboration, and growth we’re driving in our local social care landscape. It’s an honour to be recognised by Shared Lives Plus for the impact the scheme has in Surrey: promoting real connections, real belonging, and real change.
Transforming Lives Through Shared Lives
As highlighted in a recent article in The MJ, Shared Lives at Surrey Choices is more than a service, it’s a movement. We build support around people, homes and communities: fostering relationships as an alternative to institutional care.
We match individuals who need support (whether through learning disabilities, mental health challenges, or complex needs) with Shared Lives Carers in their homes. This isn’t transactional care; it’s about being part of a family who support you to lead the life you want.
It is also a model that makes economic sense. Shared Lives is estimated to save up to £30,000 per person per year compared to traditional residential care. In Surrey alone, with 66 long-term arrangements and ongoing emergency arrangements, that’s more than a million pounds in public funding saved each year.
What Makes Surrey Choices’ Approach Unique
While many Shared Lives schemes focus on matching people and Carers, what really sets us apart is the breadth of interconnected support we offer. Our Shared Lives service isn’t siloed; it’s part of a wraparound ecosystem that builds confidence, independence, and community. People supported through Shared Lives can seamlessly access volunteering opportunities or find paid employment via our EmployAbility team. They can also learn to travel independently thanks to our Travel Training programme. These options form a coherent pathway to greater autonomy.
In addition, our Shared Lives social clubs are a powerhouse for community. These vibrant, inclusive meet-ups build friendship, social confidence, and belonging, often for the first time in people’s lives.
We invest in the development and wellbeing of our Shared Lives Carers to support them in their caring role. We offer flexible weekend training and an online Carer’s Portal: a dedicated hub of resources, guidance, and peer connection.
Impact You Can See and Measure
Since 2024–2025, our Shared Lives scheme has scaled significantly:
- Short-breaks provision has risen by 65%, enabling 771 nights of overnight support.
- We received a record 144 referrals, including many for emergency and long-term support.
- We’re expanding our network of Carers, with 15 new carer assessments currently underway.
- Our model is crafted for impact: this year alone, we achieved a 56% growth rate compared to a national average of just 4%.
Meanwhile, our partnerships are deepening (notably with Surrey’s fostering services and mental health services) to ensure support is tailored, resilient, and sustainable.
Why This Matters for Social Care
At a time when adult social care systems are under tremendous pressure, the Shared Lives model offers a human-centred and cost-effective alternative. By prioritising relationships (not just bricks and budgets) we’re helping people build meaningful, stable lives in their local communities.
Our team’s recognition by Shared Lives Plus reinforces our belief in what’s possible: a person-centred model that doesn’t compromise quality for scale, a community-led approach that fosters genuine belonging, and a sustainable system that reduces public cost while increasing personal value.
Looking Ahead
As we celebrate this Highly Commended award, we’re more motivated than ever to deepen our impact. We will continue:
- Recruiting and training more amazing Shared Lives Carers.
- Expanding our wraparound services to reach even more people.
- Strengthening partnerships with other local organisations and stakeholders.
We believe deeply in our mission: by putting relationships at the heart of care we can have the greatest impact on people’s lives.
Louise Hayes, Operations Director, Shared Lives
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