The recent pandemic and forced lockdowns brought home to us all the reality of isolation. For many of us, the lockdown was the first time we had been disconnected from our families and friends and unable to go out, attend events, or enjoy cultural activities.
This had an enormous impact on people’s lives, particularly on their mental health. Since the pandemic has gone into a new phase, we are starting to see the effect that isolation, loneliness, and disconnection from communities can have on people.
Sadly, for many people who are older or disabled, the isolation that we have just experienced is the reality of their life. I hope that this period when we have all lived with isolation and loneliness, will give us a better understanding of how tough it is and give us a renewed focus on how we can make sure that people who live alone or, indeed, in care settings, have networks of friends and become less isolated.
It is also important for us to realise that you can still be lonely even while living in communal settings. The old cliche about being lonely in the crowd can apply to people who live in care homes.
One of our biggest challenges is the perception that when you get old, it is inevitable that you will become lonelier. Certainly, there will be changes to the pattern of your life, but this should not mean that you are consigned to isolation and loneliness.
The other misconception is that you cannot form new friendships when you get older. I have seen many examples of people who have developed new friendships as they moved into care homes and have connected with either other residents who have shared interests or mutual history in an area, or indeed developed friendships with some of the volunteers and younger people who come to care homes.
Another misconception about friendships is the notion that in a care home, they will only be with one particular age group. This is clearly not the case, and some of the best and most endearing friendships can be made across generations. I once went to a care home where the young people from a nearby school, who were doing a history project, had been paired up with people who lived in the care home, many of whom knew the local area because they had lived there for eighty or ninety years. What was wonderful was that when the project had finished and the students had handed in their projects, about 60% of them continued to visit the care home in order to keep in contact with the friends they made during the time they were working on the history of the local area.
One of the things we have got to do is stimulate contact across generations because this really can help to deliver mutual benefits and also break down the barriers that exist between generations and combat loneliness. It is also important to remember that many younger people who may live in the local community may also be feeling isolated and alone, and if we can connect them with people who live in care homes, this could be mutually beneficial and have so many positive impacts. Many care homes also have got some very successful volunteer programmes, and volunteers coming to care homes can deliver so many benefits to the residents and also to the staff.
Care homes can often be a venue for groups to meet, and this can lead to the development of good relationships between residents and those who live in the local community. I saw this first hand when a local group who were doing genealogy met in the care home, and many of the residents joined the group and started to trace their own family tree. This was a really positive activity. It brought people together and gave people a sense, not only of the past but also that they were engaged in researching their own personal histories. In one case, this led a resident to connect with relatives that she had not spoken to in over sixty years, and this gave her so much joy and so many new people in her network. It was also wonderful to see that the younger members of her family, who had also been doing genealogy, able to talk to somebody who knew some of the people who were on the family tree.
Having a health condition or moving into a care home can sometimes lead to changes in our networks. Still, we must never see loneliness and isolation as an inevitable part of ageing or of disability. It is really important that we all ensure that it is possible for people to develop new interests and connect with new people. There is no age limit to having fun, and there is no age limit to friendships.
Many care homes have done enormous amounts of work to connect people who are in their care to local communities and to new friendships, often across the generations. This leads to a much better quality of life and a better experience for everyone. Loneliness and isolation are not inevitable. No care service should accept them as inevitable.
@ProfMartinGreen
@CareEngland
