The Government has announced it will partner with the Royal Mail in three cities on a scheme which will see postal workers check up on people as part of their usual delivery rounds and connect them with support if needed.
Why?
It’s all part of a long-term strategy released this week to tackle the problem of loneliness there.
The UK is already on the front foot, appointing its first Minister for Loneliness in January.
Now under the plan, all GPs will be able to refer patients experiencing loneliness to community support and services by 2023.
This ‘social prescribing’ will see interventions developed for “trigger points” such as the death of a spouse or loss of a job.
Community workers will also refer people to an array of activities, like cooking classes, walking clubs and art groups – rather than defaulting to medications.
A serious health challenge
It sounds strange, sending people off to art class to treat social isolation – but loneliness is a serious health risk, linked to conditions such as heart disease, stroke and dementia.
75 per cent of British GP’s say they are seeing between one and five patients every day who are lonely. It’s estimated around 200,000 older people in the UK have not had a conversation with a friend or relative in more than a month.
Some have criticised the British Government for promoting the program after cuts to other social services – including aged care – but we can see the value.
As we covered here, research has proven social integration – how much you interact with people throughout the day – is the best predictor for a long, healthy life.
With Australian men aged over 85 having the highest suicide rate here, and a lack of mental health support for older Australians – a real issue, could a similar program work here?
If you need help, please lack of mental health support contact one of the organisations below:
Lifeline 13 11 14
MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Discussion1 Comment
Not sure that “Australian men aged over 85 having the highest suicide rate here” is a good reading of those ABS statistics. It also says “The highest proportion of suicide deaths of males occurs among those 40-44 years of age”.
Perhaps the first statement reflects the much greater total numbers in that age bracket theses days, such that a lower percentage still means a higher actual number of men …but still a much lower danger of suicide than a man at 40-44.