Issue - meetings

- Lesley Dabell, Age UK Rotherham, to present

Lesley Dabell, Chief Executive Age UK Rotherham, and Carole Haywood, LSP Manager, gave the following presentation:-

-        Loneliness in Older Age: 

o       How big is the problem?

10% of older people were always or intensely lonely = 4,000+ in Rotherham

38% were sometimes lonely = 17,000 in Rotherham

Almost 50% of older people were affected by loneliness – 21,000 in Rotherham

o       Why does it matter?

Impact on older people

Has health impacts comparable to life long smoking

Close links to depression and deprivation as well as e.g. dementia

Also linked to physical health problems such as CVD, excess drinking

Loneliness and poor physical health interact – vicious cycle

Impact on Public Services

Loneliness costs money

Exacerbates and creates health conditions

Decreases ability to live independently

Leads to ‘inappropriate’ use of services as no other alternative service to address the issue

o       What can we do about it

Good news – amenable to low level and relatively low cost interventions

Effective in combating vulnerability and reducing need for health and social care services

Volunteers and VCS organisations have a large part to play

-        Action in Progress – Example = Age Concern

o       Championing this issue for past 2 years, lead partner in Campaign

o       Services – supported by NHSR grants and fundraising

Linkline – daily telephone call by volunteers

Two’s Company – volunteer befriending service

Trips and events

Phase 2 – Friendsline/Linked up?

-        Rotherham Less Lonely Campaign

o       Supported by Rotherham’s Local Strategic Partnership partners to develop the Campaign to

Raise awareness of the issue and its impacts

Help to generate a whole community response

Make it intergenerational – involve schools/colleges and young people

-        Health and Wellbeing Board

o       LGA report outlines why local authorities need to take the issue seriously

o       Recommends that loneliness in older age was considered as part of the local Health and Wellbeing and Ageing Well Strategies.

Discussion ensued on the presentation with the following issues raised/highlighted:-

-        Challenge was to get an older person to admit they were lonely – frontline staff dealing with them to identify symptoms

-        Not only the older population – those with learning disabilities etc. who were isolated

-        1 element of the Rotherham Less Lonely Campaign

It was noted that the official launch was to be held on Friday, 20^th April in the John Smith Room.

Lesley and Carole were thanked for their presentation.