Reaching out: Looking out for elderly neighbours over Christmas

As winter draws in, one of the country’s leading charities for older people is calling for loneliness to become a public health issue, writes Marjorie Brennan.

AS the festive season approaches, and commercialism goes into overdrive, we are bombarded with images of people at Christmas parties and families gathering together and feasting on turkey with all the trimmings. However, for many people, Christmas is a time when loneliness and social isolation can be brought into sharp and painful focus.