People are living longer, but longevity can bring it’s own problems. One of these is loneliness, as people lose friends and family dear to them. Research has found that as many as one in ten older people – more than 80,000 people aged 65 and over living in Scotland – said they always or often felt lonely. Continue reading Tackling loneliness
Volunteer Centre Edinburgh is to launch a new dedicated phone line for people aged 65 and over living in North West and South East Edinburgh giving easy access to information on a huge range of activities available to them.
The new service, which starts starts tomorrow (Wednesday 8 October), uses a dedicated direct dial number 0131 603 8311. Lines will be open from 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday with a call back service outwith these times.
People are living longer and the new phone line aims to help people maintain a good quality of life by giving access to information on activities which can help keep us happy and healthy as well as giving us a great excuse to socialise.
The phone line is part of the Local Opportunities for Older People (LOOPS) initiative which is piloting a variety of innovative, new services across Edinburgh aimed at people 65 plus.
Commenting on the launch of the new phone line, Volunteer Centre Edinburgh’s CEO Harriet Eadie said “As someone who has an elderly mother living in the Highlands, who needs a range of support and help to live independently I know exactly how valuable it can be to have easy access to good information on activities, but also how difficult that can be to get that information. I’m so excited that in North West and South East Edinburgh Volunteer Centre Edinburgh can help make it just a little bit easier for older people, their family and friends to get to the information they need.”
There are 36,238 people 65+ living in North West and South East Edinburgh in 18,266 homes and the impact of isolation and loneliness on their health is dramatic. Research shows that after only 8 hours of inactivity joint contractures start forming and that muscle atrophy, bone loss and heart changes occur after only a few days of inactivity.
The phone line is hoping to reach out to as many as possible. Using trained, friendly volunteers it will offer a welcoming, enabling information and signposting service and give out information to people directly, or to Health and Social Care Professionals, friends, neighbours or family.
For more about the Volunteer Centre Edinburgh LOOPs, visit Volunteer Centre Edinburgh’s website, or Facebook page.
