Charity receiving ‘huge number’ of calls from older people feeling lonely

An elderly woman at Rowheath House retirement home in Birmingham.

A charity that supports older people is calling on the public to reach out to the elderly people in their lives.

Alone says it is concerned by the negative impact of loneliness on older people’s mental health since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.

The charity is asking the public to continue to reach out and stay in touch with their older relatives, neighbours and friends.

It comes as Alone revealed that the National Support Line has received in excess of 31,993 calls for support since March.

By the end of March, the support line had received just more than 4,000 calls.

Staff and volunteers at the charity have made more than 177,280 calls to older people who needed support, and provided more than 3,102 units of practical support, delivered from the support line, staff and volunteers.

They say they are “providing ongoing support to more than 14,745 older people who require support for difficulties with loneliness, health, finance, housing, accessing services, Covid-19 and other challenges”.

Practical support refers to things such as volunteers picking up and delivering groceries or medicine to older people. 

New data from ALONE and The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing found that one-third of those aged 50 and older felt lonely at least some of the time.  The survey, titled Loneliness and social isolation in the Covid-19 Pandemic among the over 70s, also found that loneliness is most prevalent among over-75s and those living alone.

The charity said that many of the older people who have contacted Alone in the past six months “are living alone and are most at risk of experiencing loneliness and isolation”.

'A serious issue'

Seán Moynihan, CEO of Alone, said: “Loneliness is a serious issue among older people which has been exacerbated by the current situation, and we believe the long-term mental health impacts of loneliness will continue to affect older people long after the pandemic has passed.

“We have continually called for the national strategy on loneliness to address this issue on a long-term basis to be implemented and need to see this come into play rapidly. 

“We are receiving a huge number of phone calls from older people who are feeling lonely and isolated having now spent six months limiting their social contact in their homes, and we believe this will become more difficult as we move into the winter months.”   

The Loneliness Taskforce, which was set up in 2018, established five principle actions in order to tackle loneliness.

They are:

• Responsibility allocated to a specific Minister and Government Department.
• A public campaign to be undertaken.
• Support offered to initiatives and organisations which alleviate loneliness as their primary function.
• An action plan for volunteering is initiated.
• And Irish-specific research on loneliness is undertaken.

Alone said there is now “an urgency to see these actions fast-tracked due to the Covid-19 pandemic”.  

Mr Moynihan added: “We are asking members of the public to keep in touch with the older people in their lives during what is a very difficult time for many. It is important to maintain contact with older people.

“So far, the level of support we have seen from communities across the country has been phenomenal, and we hope this will continue.

“We are also encouraging any older person who is experiencing loneliness to get in touch with us.

“Our volunteers are continuing to provide telephone support for older people and are making regular phone calls for reassurance and social support.” The charity is calling on any older people who need advice or support to call their support line, 0818 222 024 from 8am-8pm, seven days a week.