ADULTS SERVICES
Members and volunteers at Neighbourly Care in Southall
Out of isolation
Loneliness can have a huge impact on a person’s health, which is why Ealing
Council has pledged to work with the NHS and other local organisations to tackle
the problem. We visited a centre in Southall making a real difference.
A
new Loneliness and Isolation
Charter was unveiled at
a special seminar held at
Ealing Town Hall in the
spring. It sets out what the council and
the other agencies will do to combat
the problem in the borough.
A shocking statistic delivered to the
seminar audience was that loneliness
can have the same impact on a
person’s life expectancy as smoking
15 cigarettes a day.
The charter sets out a number
of pledges, including: Carrying out
research to find out the true extent of
loneliness in the borough; making sure
new care co-ordinators at GP surgeries
are able to identify and help people
in these situations; and improving
community transport so people do not
become isolated because they find it
hard to travel to social activities.
Councillor Hitesh Tailor speaking to guests
at the seminar
26
around ealing
Summer 2016
Councillor Hitesh Tailor, the council’s
cabinet member for health and adults’
services, said: “In a city of eight million
people, London can be surprisingly
lonely place for many. Research shows
people who are lonely are more likely to
visit their GP or, for elderly people, to
need residential care at an earlier point
in their lives. This campaign is intended
to recognise the extent and cost of
loneliness and identify ways to overcome
the barriers for people to use the support
and social networks available. This is
about all of us, across all the ages.”
Among guests at the seminar
were representatives from Age UK,