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Many community services exist to support people at a vulnerable point in their lives, such as bereavement, addiction, loneliness; aging and requiring care. Loneliness, in particular, is one of the most pressing public health issues. It is linked to early deaths and an increased risk of a range of health conditions. For example, The Social Care Institute for Excellence highlighted that being lonely has a significant impact on an individuals’ health. The Campaign to End Loneliness points to research showing that loneliness increases the likelihood of mortality by 26%. It also points to research showing that a lack of social connection is as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness is associated with higher blood pressure and also depression. Furthermore, loneliness results in a higher incidence of dementia, with one study reporting a doubled risk of Alzheimer’s disease in lonely people compared with those who were not lonely. Older people living alone are 50% more likely to access emergency care services, 40% more likely to have more than 12 GP appointments, use more medication and have a higher incidence of falls. People who are lonely are also more likely to enter early into residential or nursing care. Tackling loneliness is therefore, relevant to a number of important agendas for local authorities, in particular public health.
In 2018, the government devised and published its first strategy for tackling loneliness. A Connected Society addressed the actions required to tackle this problem. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), in collaboration with the Local Government Association (LGA), digital experts, local authorities, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, Local Governance (MHCLG) and the voluntary sector, committed to launch pilots to explore how better management of data could provide a more reliable, more trusted, more accessible and more extensive set of information about local activities, services and support.
Peer support for example, is an important approach in helping local authorities and the NHS to meet the needs of all sections of the population. Furthermore, the growing focus on social prescribing within Leeds, offers another route for access to peer support and other community assets by connecting people with support offers in their local communities. Community, groups, walking clubs and childcare activities also form an essential part of the social prescribing landscape.
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