The NHS's most senior acute care doctor has warned that the rising phenomenon of loneliness among older people must be addressed urgently, or the health service risks being overwhelmed by the costs of caring for isolated elderly patients in hospital. Professor Keith Willett, director for acute care at NHS England, said failure to tackle the issue would lead to hospitals becoming 'dormitories for older people' who are sent to A&E because they lack support at home.
Professor Willett's warning comes as the Local Government Association (LGA) launches a new drive urging councils to recognise loneliness as a 'major public health concern'. The LGA will distribute a Combating Loneliness guide to 370 councils this week, citing research that suggests loneliness can be more damaging than smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and that lonely people have a 64% increased chance of developing clinical dementia.
Izzi Seccombe, LGA spokeswoman for public health, said: 'As our population profile changes, and we have a larger proportion of over 65s and over 85s, loneliness is becoming an increasingly important public health concern. The impact of loneliness can be devastating and costly – with consequences comparable to smoking and obesity.'
Research in the south west of England, where the population age profile is 10 to 15 years ahead of the rest of the country, found that a third of patients admitted to A&E had very infrequent social interactions – less than once a month or never. The report concluded that there is 'clearly work that could be done to improve the social interaction of the people in this study'.
Day care centres for the elderly can help alleviate isolation, but health providers report fewer people accessing them due to cuts to local authority budgets. Dr Maureen Baker, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: 'Services in the community, such as day centres for the elderly, can go a long way to alleviating loneliness and related conditions – but they are under considerable financial pressure. It's really important that they are protected.'
Professor Willett advocates transforming NHS care to bring services to older people at home, avoiding unnecessary hospitalisation. 'Older people who arrive in hospital usually spend longer in hospital, and that's not ideal for them; that is not where they do well,' he said. 'They often have protracted stays, occupying acute facilities, when often they don't need to be there.'
