Only 50 per cent call elderly relatives only once a week

A call centre for the elderly, Senior Response, has conducted research into how much telephone contact 40 to 60 year olds have with their closest elderly relatives.

The bespoke research revealed that only 50 per cent of people contact a relative once a week, while a mere 14 per cent make contact on a daily basis. Yet 63 per cent of those surveyed believe that this minimal contact is adequate.

The research also found that nearly 30 per cent of people simply do not know how many other people contact their elderly relative on a particular day. In addition, 11 per cent of the respondents admitted that no one else would contact their elderly relative at all, confirming that many older people may have no social contact with anyone on a daily basis.

Mike Bingham, managing director of Senior Response comments: “In our busy lives, it’s very easy to forget the thousands of older people who often go for days without seeing or speaking to anyone. Loneliness and isolation is an enormous issue for people in later life in the UK and our figures certainly highlight this worrying issue.

“Contact isn’t just for Christmas – families can go for days, or even weeks, without speaking to their elderly relatives. This is not good enough. Certainly, contact with anyone, be it by phone or in person can make an enormous difference to the older generation.

“As the UK’s population rapidly ages, the issue of acute loneliness and social isolation is one of the biggest challenges facing our society – and it must be addressed. Many people have family members who should either make the calls themselves or if they do not have time, arrange or even pay someone else to do so. “

Senior Response recently launched a Daily Call service, which has been designed to help time-poor families ensure that their elderly relatives are well and safe and have someone to talk to, in effort to tackle the increasing problem of loneliness and isolation of the elderly.