'The loneliness epidemic has been in Ireland long before Covid'

Opinion: many older people in Ireland can go days, weeks or even months with no social contact whatsoever

By Lhara Mullins and Margaret Hodgins, NUI Galway

Ellen is 87 and has no family. She has the door open before I get out of my car. The smile on her face is beaming. When I come in, she holds my hand and brings me to the kitchen table. She has made tuna salad sandwiches and tea. The cats are walking all over the table and I discreetly take the cat hair from my mouth as I eat the tuna salad sandwich.

Why? Because this is exactly what Ellen needs from me today. Just to be here with her. Even if it’s only for a half hour. I didn’t even drink tea before I worked in homecare. But I realised it was much more than a cup of tea. it was an event. It was an invitation to just be.

Covid-19 has made most of us feel isolated, lack motivation and feel generally like we have no control over our ability to see family and friends. The monotony of each day feels like yesterday and tomorrow, all at the same time. For many older people in Ireland, this isolation and monotony is their normal. They can go days, weeks or even months with no social contact whatsoever. The epidemic of loneliness has been present in Ireland long before Covid. Yet as a society we’re not responding to this as aggressively. Why?

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline, Joe Duffy hears from callers about being lonely during the pandemic.

There would be uproar if people thought children were alone in their homes for days on end, maybe with not enough food to eat or heat in their house. We would be marching on the streets! So why are we not as hurt and outraged when our older people are living life this? Many due to health and mobility issues are dependent on other people for care. Yet by doing nothing as a society, we’re almost saying: I’m okay with this.

Paddy is 82 years old and his beloved wife Margo passed away 15 years ago. Paddy sits in silence all day - you can hear the clock ticking. Every time he hears a car outside, he uses his stick to move the net curtains so he can check if it’s someone to see him. It rarely is. Paddy has homecare for two hours per week. I’m tasked to do light housework, but Paddy wants to show me photos of Margo and tell me about how much he misses her. I leave knowing that Paddy will see no one until I’m back next week unless death offers asylum before then.

From RTÉ's You OK? podcast, Prof. Roger O'Sullivan from the Institute of Public Health discusses loneliness and how the pandemic has impacted levels of loneliness in society

Ireland is considerably behind other European countries in the care of older people. It is hard to believe that we still don’t have legislation governing the homecare sector. We all know exactly what to do if we are concerned about the welfare of a child. There is clear and robust legislation which stipulates our responsibilities. Yet would you know what to do or who to contact if you were concerned for the welfare of an older person?

"One week no-one came at all….It really was upsetting. I was watching the door"

Our homecare workers were frontline heroes before we ever heard of coronavirus. Many homecare workers spend unpaid additional time with the older people they care for because they simply have no-one else to be there with them. Homecare workers are the sons, daughters, nieces and nephews that these older people don’t have. Holding someone’s hand and having a cup of tea and a chat will never be identified within a care plan. Yet these moments are far more valuable to the older person who has no family, than most people will ever know. The roads we drive on, the paths we walk on and the communities we live in were built by these same older people who are dying from loneliness.

From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, psychologist Tony Bates on dealing with loneliness

It’s been nearly a decade since I worked in homecare. Yet my research has enabled me to me meet with older people and homecare workers to discuss homecare in Ireland. The quotes dotted throughout this text share their voices. This presents a shocking insight into just how soul destroying loneliness can be for both older people and those who provide them care.

"Please don’t go… don’t leave me here to die on my own"

So what can we do to address the epidemic of loneliness for older people in Ireland? Here are three ideas.

(a) intergenerational projects could link people who are unemployed with older people who would benefit from having someone visit them and meet their need for human contact.

(b) incentives should be created for community groups, transition year students and third level students to establish befriending services for older people locally.

(c) greater investment is needed from the state to fund initiatives to address loneliness. Such initiatives reduce the number of GP and hospital visits of the older person and potentially nursing home care. This, in turn, would reduce the "burden on the exchequer" we're often told older people are causing. Our older people should be living, not just waiting to die.

Lhara Mullins is a lecturer above the bar in Health Promotion and a PhD student at NUI Galway. Dr Margaret Hodgins is a member of the Discipline of Health Promotion and a Principal Investigator with the Health Promotion Research Centre at NUI Galway

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ

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