Issue - meetings

Troy Young, Assistant Director, Age UK Leicester Shire and Rutland to give a presentation on the Loneliness Prescription Service.

Troy Young, Assistant Director, Age UK Leicester Shire and Rutland gave a presentation on the Loneliness Prescription Service.

The following comments were noted during the presentation:-

·         Age UK Leicester Shire and Rutland set up the Loneliness Prescription service in 2015 as it had been recognised that 1 in 10 older people visited their G.P. because of loneliness and other non-clinical issues.

·         Many patients were also living with longer term health conditions and had additional social needs.  Social factors had an impact upon health and connecting people to service and support would promote healthy ageing.

·         Loneliness Prescriptions worked with people who were over 50 years of age by supporting them to connect with local services and support including local social groups, educational courses, lunch clubs and exercise classes.

·         The service also offered older people who required on-going contact a telephone befriending service.

·         The service was enhanced by a team of dedicated volunteers who had been trained to provide short term one to one support that older people frequently needed when they were re-engaging with their local community.

·         Phase 2 of the service was funded by the National Lottery Community fund until March 2021 and

o   Worked with all G.P practices across city;

o   The service had been restructured to incorporate short term and ongoing support and aimed to target 160 people in year 1 rising to 200 people in year 2.

o   It connected people to services and offered one to one support and ongoing support delivered through telephone befriending.

·         The range of services it connected people to were:-

o   Caring for Carers

o   Telephone befriending

o   Call-in-time

o   Mentoring support

o   Information and Advice

o   Charity Link

o   Health Through Warmth

o   Home Energy Checks

o   Last Orders (a service with Turning Point for advice with alcohol consumption)

o   Housing

·         The service worked closely with GPs and care navigators as well as Primary Care Networks in the city supporting social prescribing.

·         The service contributed to the objectives of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy by:-

o   Recognising that social factors have a significant impact on the health of the population;

o   Promoting Healthy Ageing and Healthy Lives themes by connecting people to the services and support that they need.

The Chair commented that important for people not to feel isolated and that all parts of the health care system worked in partnership across the City to address issues relating to health and wellbeing.

RESOLVED:             That the contents of the presentation be noted and Board Members, through their organisations, contribute to signposting people in need of the Loneliness Prescription Service to their GP practice.

Troy Young, Assistant Director, Age UK Leicester Shire and Rutland to give a presentation on the Loneliness Prescription Service.