Agenda item

To receive a briefing report that provides information about the risks, impacts and interventions for loneliness and social isolation, highlights the position in Leicester and informs discussion about options for further work.  The Board is requested to accept this briefing in order to inform multiagency discussion about isolation and loneliness in Leicester.

John Mair-Jenkins, Speciality Registrar, Public Health will attend the meeting.  

John Mair-Jenkins, Speciality Registrar, Public Health introduced a briefing report that provided information about the risks, impacts and interventions for loneliness and social isolation, highlighting the position in Leicester and informing discussion about options for further work.  A presentation was also made to the Board.

 The following comments were made during the presentation:-

a)         Various factors affected loneliness and could intervene in multiple areas of a person’s life.  These factors could relate to a person’s individual circumstances, the local community where the person lived and how the individual integrated with, or was affected by, the local environment, and those factors which affected society at large.

b)         It was estimated that 30,000 residents in Leicester felt excluded, lonely or alone all the time.  This represented approximately 10% of the population and this had been a stable trend over the last 60 years.

c)         The risks for loneliness were not universal and there were variations between different ethnic and age groups.  There were established links between loneliness and health inequalities.  People experiencing loneliness all the time could have increased odds of death of 30% and they were also more likely to access GP and hospital services and enter residential care. 

d)         It was estimated that the cost of loneliness could cost £24 million in Leicester and that effective intervention could save a potential of £1.5 to £5.1 million per year.  There was no real consensus on what represented the best forms of intervention; but it was recognised that the issue of loneliness could not be tackled in isolation by any one single organisation.

e)         Existing initiatives included, reablement services, independent living support, grant funded luncheon clubs, First Contact , Leicester Dial A Ride, RVS Hospital to home scheme, care navigators, Braunstone Blues, as well as a range of voluntary sector services providing wellbeing support groups and telephone befriending.  The current challenges were seen as providing services in a time of austerity and building vibrant communities where people could feel connected.

Members also referred to the impact of social isolation arising from both teenage pregnancy and those teenagers who experienced difficulties in integrating with their peers or who felt social isolation arising from their parent’s separating or divorcing.

A representative of Age UK stated that they currently had a programme to address isolation through identifying vulnerable people through GP services.  The programme had £3 million of funding over two years and it provided support to 3,000 people.  However there was a challenge in engaging with GPs in the east of the City.

Toby Sanders commented that the CCG supported a range of services including befriending services for patient support through voluntary and community organisations.  He stated that he would discuss ways of helping Age UK to improve engagement with GPs in the east of the City with the Managing Director of the Leicester City CCG.

The Chair welcomed the report and presentation in raising the issues with the Board.  He felt that it would be possible to identify pilot areas of the City which could be suitable for developing a small number of initiatives in partnership with Board Members and voluntary and community sector representatives.

AGREED:

1.         That the Speciality Registrar, Public Health be thanked for the presentation and that the Board members consider the issues of isolation in their own areas of service delivery and consider ways of addressing the issues with other partners in the local health economy.

2.         That the Speciality Registrar, Public Health arrange for an informal group of the Board and voluntary and community sector representatives to develop a small number of initiatives for a pilot area in the City.