Ageism, isolation and loneliness prevalent in UK society

Research from age positive charity WRVS has found the UK to be performing poorly compared to EU countries on the experience on ageing.

The report ‘Ageing across Europe’ finds that loneliness and isolation amongst older people is a particularly worrying aspect of UK society, together with a high prevalence of life-limiting illness, low levels of physical activity and a low net income.

Survey results on age discrimination and living standards will also alarm care sector campaigners, with UK citizens believing old age starts earlier than the three other countries studied, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, while also finding that society and younger people are perceived as showing older people a lack of respect.

Chief executive of the WRVS, David McCullough, commented on the action that needs to be taken at a community level:

“This research highlights the sad truth about growing old in Britain today and should act as a wake up call. The treatment of older people in this country needs to be addressed and we must learn from our EU partners. As they have proved, it is possible to tackle some of these issues by taking advantage of volunteers to provide older people with more social contact and better links to their communities. This in turn will have a knock on beneficial impact on their health.

“From WRVS’ own experience working with older people, we know that increased social interaction and more socialising between generations are hugely beneficial in combating not only loneliness, but also health problems. This, in turn, can keep people happier, healthier and out of hospital and in their homes for longer. But we need to reach more people and to do this we need to double our volunteer workforce.

“WRVS, with the Campaign to End Loneliness, is developing a toolkit that will help local commissioners to identify and tackle loneliness in their areas.”