Project Brighton: David Steedman, MD of Bluebird Care, discusses the important issue of loneliness among older people within our community

Five and a half years ago when I founded Bluebird Care in Brighton, I could never have imagined the huge number of isolated, lonely people behind the numerous front doors of our city. Lonely for various reasons – social exclusion, old age, bereavement, displaced families, poor mobility, no friends left alive, or neighbours with no idea of their plight.

Loneliness is a silent epidemic and we want to ensure we raise the awareness of this sad reality through our ‘Every Visit Counts’ campaign. There are 11.4 million people aged 65 and over in Britain, research carried out by Age UK, shows that 1.3 million of them spend approximately two months a year alone.

In the South East, 14% of older people are spending more than a week alone. A OnePoll survey of 1,000 over 65-year-olds, found that 11% said they spent five days or more a month without seeing anyone.

Loneliness is a silent epidemic and we want to ensure we raise the awareness of this sad reality through our ‘Every Visit Counts’ campaign

The poll also found that in the South East, nearly a fifth (17%) spend nearly a month (24 days) a year without seeing anyone. Four in 10 (40%) feel lonely either often or sometimes. A third (31%) would not admit to someone they trust that they are lonely. Four in 10 (42%) say they do not have access to support when they are feeling lonely.

Women, who on average live longer lives than men, make up 70% of the people over the age of 65 in our country. Older women are twice as likely to spend at least two months a year alone, with 1.1 million older women (14%) spending two months a year alone compared to 200,000 older men (7%).

Again, older women are more likely to have spent longer periods alone than older men, with 21% of female respondents saying they have gone a week or longer without speaking to another person compared to 14% of men.

We are encouraging everyone in Brighton and Hove to spend some time with anyone who they think may be lonely

The poll was commissioned by us at Bluebird Care, to mark the start of the ‘Every Visit Counts’ campaign to tackle loneliness.

Our team of dedicated carers are fantastic at combatting loneliness. They do so by looking out for people who may be lonely and by encouraging their family and friends to do the same. We are encouraging everyone in Brighton and Hove to spend some time with anyone who they think may be lonely, even a few minutes can make an enormous difference to someone’s day. The aim of the campaign is to highlight the high rate of loneliness among older people in the UK. The campaign brings expert tips and highlights ways that everyone can help to spot and beat loneliness in society.

For more info visit www.everyvisit.co.uk