Our Mission to Ease Loneliness This Christmas

Live-in care provider calls for joint action to bring hope and ease the feeling of loneliness during this festive season

Promedica24, Europe’s largest provider of care at home, launched its winter campaign to prevent and manage the issue of loneliness amongst vulnerable people. The company is encouraging people to speak up about their experience of feeling lonely and asks for their first-hand advice on how to stay positive and uplifted during this festive season, despite the pandemic restrictions.

Paula Beaney, Quality Assurance Director at Promedica24, commented: “Loneliness can affect anyone, regardless of their age, social status or living circumstances. Older people and those with health issues that force them to limit their social interactions are particularly vulnerable.

“Loneliness has been an issue long before COVID-19 but the pandemic has further exacerbated its negative impact. This is why we decided to focus our Christmas campaign around raising awareness and providing a platform for people to open up and share their experiences. We ask our clients, care workers, partners, and the public to send us their stories and ideas on how we can tackle this very real problem, both on an individual and community level”.

Promedica24 will collate all the testimonials and share them with the broader audience via their social media channels, newsletter, website and a series of webinars being launched next year.

The Loneliness Annual Report 2020, published in January, claimed that between 6% and 18% of the UK population often feels lonely, whilst 2.4 million suffer from chronic loneliness. Unwanted social isolation has a profound negative impact, both on mental and physical health. During the initial weeks of the first lockdown, close to 31% of adults reported that loneliness affected their wellbeing. Moreover, the situation might be even more difficult for the older population or those with disabilities who tend to rely on the help of others in their day to day lives. For instance, it is critical for those living with dementia to maintain a strong connection with other people as long periods of self-isolation accelerate the devastating memory loss associated with this condition.

“As a live-in care provider, we are doing our utmost best to help older and vulnerable people through the difficulties of the pandemic and making sure they can safely isolate in familiar surroundings, accompanied by a qualified care worker who supports their mental and physical wellbeing”, added Paula Beaney. To help the case further, the company has pledged a donation on behalf of its staff to the Independent Age, an award-winning charity that helps older people live healthy and satisfying lives.

As a part of their mission, Independent Age have developed a number of valuable resources that empower older people, their families and carers to cope with the feeling of loneliness and overcome the everyday barriers to social interactions. The guide ‘If you are feeling lonely: How to stay connected in older age’ provides practical advice and access to additional resources which are specific to different regions in the UK. Both text and voice-recorded versions of the guide are available.

Simon Hewett-Avison, Director of Services at Independent Age, commented:

“2020 has been an especially difficult year for people in later life. Far too many older people experienced feelings of loneliness even before the pandemic, and the lockdown and other restrictions has made it even harder for us to connect with each other.

“We know that loneliness can have a profound effect on wellbeing, and at Independent Age we work hard – with our volunteers – to help older people create meaningful connections, through our befriending and other wellbeing services.

“We very much appreciate the donation from Promedica24 and look forward to reading the testimonials they create.”

Please share with us your story and advice on coping with loneliness by contacting Evie Jackson at Promedica24, either by email: e.jackson@promedica24.co.uk, via post: Promedica24, 19 Station Rd, Watford, WD17 1AP, or by calling 0800 086 8686

Press enquiries to Donna Richardson Email: D.Richardson@promedica24.co.uk Tel: +44 7500 737860