Thoughts and advice on dealing with loneliness?

[GrandsonNo1]

Hi there,

My Grandmother has just turned 90, and lives on her own at home. She is fairly frail now, with short term memory failing, and cannot drive. Other than twice daily visits from carers, she spends much of her time on her own these days. Though she is generally in good spirits, she does admit that she often feels very lonely.

Any thoughts and advice on how her loneliness can be tackled would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

[sassy59]

Loneliness is difficult to deal with for many but is made worse by age and frailty.

I just wonder if there is a Guild care or Age UK in your grandmothers area who have get togethers for the elderly. Maybe they could arrange transport. Check too and see if there’s a scheme whereby volunteers take lonely people out for tea etc.

I’ve just checked in my Saga magazine and there’s The Silver Line started by Dame Esther Rantzen who offer a free 24 hour phone line on 0800 4708090. Might be worth a call.

Good luck and hope things improve for your grandmother soon. Xxxx 👍

[GrandsonNo1 in reply to sassy59]

Thank you so much for giving me some new avenues to explore. Very much appreciated. X

[MAS_Nurse]

Hi there,

Welcome to our supportive community. Have you heard of The Silver Line, a UK charity set up by Esther Rantzen following the success of Childline UK, to address the loneliness felt by older people: thesilverline.org.uk/who-we...

The Silver Line Helpline: Freephone, confidential, only line dedicated to older people in UK Tel: [phone]

thesilverline.org.uk/what-w...

Hope this helps, let us know how she gets on.

Best wishes,

MAS Nurse

[Hidden]

Hi GrandsonNo1

Loneliness is a curse for many people, especially the elderly and isolated. It can be difficult to deal with when you are younger, but it's hard to imagine how it must be for a frail 90 year old, passing the last days of her life alone.

Are you able to take on a little more responsibility for making her less lonely? Is there any other family member who could also be called upon as well as yourself, to undertake to give her a call, without fail, every day, and to visit just one more time than you do already, every week?

Sassy59 and MAS-Nurse have mentioned the Silver Line phone service set up by Esther Rantzen, which is a literally vital lifeline for the lonely elderly, (at least for now, though I hear it's struggling for funding). A great and comforting thing which I hope will survive, but I also think it's a great thing if family can engage a little more, first and foremost.

Clearly you care very much to have got in touch to ask for suggestions and I know it's not always that easy to visit or even find time to telephone, but it does mean a great deal to the lonely person.

And there's one other very old fashioned thing you could do, if she can still see enough to read, and that's letters, cards and postcards. If you can't face writing a whole letter, a cheery card once a week with a few lines inside is always a very comforting thing.

[WheezyAnne]

Can I suggest talk to her GP surgery, as they may know, and also the Social Services at the Council. Often local churches have get together/clubs specifically for the elderly, for all faiths, or none. Hope some of this gives you ideas.

[katieoxo60]

Hello there , at the moment there are a lot of projects going on to try to improve the lives of lonely ,isolated people. You need to try and make people like AGEUK, Social services & carers in your locality know that your grandma would benefit from a visitor or even a telephone chat once a week and ask if there are any such servcices available in her area. There are some buddy systems in some areas, but of course these services are dependent on volunteers which are not so easy to find, I wish you every best wish in finding a solution.

[kernowdame]

In our village and around there is a system where folk can get a regular visit from a volunteer for a chat. I think it is accessed through the GPs. Perhaps ask her GP ?

[Cann]

Do you have an ageing well programme in your area or a community builder? They may be able to help you.

[Hidden]

Age Concern offer a service of a ‘friend’ visiting and organise meetings with other elderly persons usually with a carer - plus offer a meal out with other people in similar situation and provide a ‘taxi’ to pick them up

Seen articles where young children and the elderly are brought together for the day - which i think is a brilliant idea -

Is there anyway you could set up a system to have face to face contact with your grandmother via computer/ipad etc ....

Have a friend in Australia whose mother is in England - who reads bed time stories to her daughters children via computer in Australia.

My brother set up a system of cameras for me to ensure she was ok and not fallen out of bed.

Hope these thoughts help