Reconnections for Professionals

Reconnections aims to help older people in Worcestershire to improve their health and wellbeing by tackling the causes of loneliness and isolation.

We work with individuals over the age of 50 on a one-to-one basis, helping them to improve their confidence and connect with local services and activities that suit their interests. Reconnections supports health and care professionals to treat individuals holistically, by providing a referral pathway that meets older people’s non-medical needs.

Why tackle loneliness?

Compared to well-connected individuals, older people who are lonely are on average:

9 times more likely to visit the GP,
6 times more likely to visit A&E,
3 times more likely to have an emergency admission, and
5 times more likely to enter local authority-funded residential care

Increased service usage can be estimated at costs of c. £12,000 per lonely individual Additionally, lonely older people are:

4 times more likely have depression,
9 times more likely to develop dementia in the following 15 years, and
Two-thirds more likely to be inactive, which may lead to a 7% increased likelihood of diabetes, 8% increased likelihood of stroke and 14% increased likelihood of CHD
Isolation equivalent impact on mortality to smoking 15 cigarettes a day

Over 1/3 of older people are estimated to suffer from at least some elements of isolation, while the number of over-65s is expected to grow by 5.5 million over the next 20 years.

Resources

With loneliness affecting up to 35,000 people across Worcestershire the scale of the problem is clear and its consequences are likely to be impacting on your service.

Refer patients now by calling confidentially on 01905 740954, emailing reconnections@ageukhw.nhs.net or using the Reconnections form.