More needs to be done to tackle social isolation
How to reduce social isolation in an age of declining social care budgets
More needs to be done to tackle social isolation, which affects many more people and puts them at greater risk of dementia
According to Age UK, the number of 55 to 64-year-olds living alone has increased by 50% since 1998. Social isolation is now thought to affect more than 1 million people in the UK, and the evidence that social isolation is a risk factor for dementia and shortens lifespan is becoming irrefutable.
While the causes of social isolation are multiple, if we are to stem the accelerating burden on social care and NHS, more needs to be done earlier to intervene for people at risk. But what are the alternatives, when local authorities face unprecedented funding cuts and have tightened their eligibility criteria for people with milder needs?
At a policy level, little is being done to extend independence in high risk groups in coming generations. Many commissioners are petrified at the projections five to 10 years from now as insufficient budgets will be there to provide care to this population. In my view, the government’s dementia strategy is inadequate as it provides limited focus on encouraging positive behaviours around cognitive health in a much larger at risk group. Yet the flipside is the public’s belief that any service, innovation or tool to enable independence should be provided by the state. This has to change.
I witnessed the sharp end of these trends when I was running a NHS memory clinic. Many patients referred by their GPs were in the early stages of memory decline. Yet, no diagnosis means no care package, and day centres among other supports were being cut back. This group are the classic at risk group, displaying evidence of cognitive decline compounded by social isolation. In many cases, their adult children take up the care responsibilities by working less, retiring early or becoming full time carers. Indeed, 80% of care is now delivered by informal caregivers and family. At the same time, urbanisation and denuclearised families mean caregiving is being provided from a distance, often a different city or country.
How should we tackle these challenges? It is common to find scepticism about the benefits of technology for vulnerable people, as if the intent is to outsource responsibility to the lowest bidder robotically. While it may be true that there is an ageist bias in digital industries in terms of the relevance and utility of services for older people, it is wrong to assume that older people do not crave the benefits of technology. One of the most gratifying moments I witnessed while installing our elderly care solution for a 93-year-old with dementia and a stroke was his insistence on using it despite the protestations of an overbearing neighbour who was intent on persuading us and him otherwise.
One of the most critical issues is the lack of access to superfast broadband evenly distributed across the country. While the arguments to foster digital literacy in older generations have been made, what does not appear to have been factored into the equation is the stimulus this can provide to care provision.
Employers need to wake up to the impact of eldercare on their employees and invest in solutions that allow carers to continue working flexibly and for longer, but also provide connectivity and support to older relatives from the workplace. I am not suggesting that frailer older people be left to their own devices, but that digitally enabled, work-friendly support be provided that can build resilience and detect early warning signs of decline. Nearly 2 million older people with mild cognitive impairment in the UK are at risk of developing dementia. It is this population who can benefit from daily interaction ranging from medication reminders to video calls.
There has been a transformation of employer attitudes towards childcare in the past 20 years. We should expect a similar transition for the UK’s 6 million carers as our demographics shift. Too often I hear that this issue is not on the HR agenda, yet the costs to all parties are indisputable.
Dr Jamie Wilson is a dementia specialist and founder of HomeTouch
