‘Screamingly Lonely’ – ALICE co-design workshops at The Entrance reveal need to tackle social isolation amongst older residents
The ALICE (All Inclusive Care for Older People) project engaged with local residents at Diggers at The Entrance over two days – Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 June – to listen to their views about improving health and wellbeing amongst older people living in the local community.
The discussions immediately highlighted the fact that many older residents and their carers are ‘screamingly lonely’ and often do not know what care and support may be available to them, or whom to turn to in case of need.
- Being better informed and supported,
- Engaging older people in a wider network of community activities and
- Having access to a single hub or place to convene, and
- Improvements in the built environment – such as safe spaces and pathways – to improve people’s confidence in leaving their own homes.
Enabling people to get more active and supporting purpose and meaning to their lives was seen as just as important as better and timely access to care and support from a GP, care home supports and other health and care services.
These discussions are actively feeding into the design of the ALICE model of care that understands that success must come from a bottom-up community-centric approach in which older people enjoy better connection amongst their community and more joined up care that meets their needs and goals.
