Over 65s fear loneliness not COVID-19 at Christmas after PM's 'careful judgement' warning to families

More than half of over-65s are worried about spending Christmas without their family according to a nationwide poll, with some fearing loneliness more than COVID-19 after families were told to make a ‘careful judgement’ before visiting the elderly.

Credit: Evgeny Atamanenko/ Shutterstock While Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced up to three households can meet indoors from 23-27 December to celebrate Christmas together, he also warned families to make a “careful judgment” about visiting elderly relatives at Christmas.

Boris Johnson said this week: “This virus is obviously not going to grant a Christmas truce, it doesn’t know it’s Christmas and families will need to make a careful judgement about the risk of visiting elderly relatives."

Most aged 65+ have one or more chronic health conditions, making them particularly susceptible to the virus. This has prompted some families to rethink whether they should see older relatives in person on Christmas Day.

‘Christmas looks grim’

The prospect of spending Christmas alone without family is a big worry amongst most people aged 65+, making them feel hopeless about the future.

One in six people responding to a survey of 500 people by telecare provider SECOM CareTech said they feared loneliness more than COVID-19.

“I seem to have nothing to look forward to now and the prospect of Christmas looks grim”, said one older person.

Some over 65s went so far as to say they would rather prioritise seeing their families over staying alive this Christmas.

England’s national lockdowns have led to many over 65s and others with health conditions isolating indoors for long periods of time, which according to the survey has compounded their sense of isolation.

Another poll respondent said: “I get depressed being in the house all the time, but I am too frightened to take the risk of going out even for a walk.

“It makes me feel depressed as I am unable to see my family, don’t go out, don’t sleep well, have been inside since mid-march and feel generally fed up.”

More than a quarter of people asked (28 per cent) said the coronavirus pandemic had affected their mental health and blamed loneliness or not being able to see their family as a contributing factor.

Calls to over 65s on Christmas Day

More than a third (39 per cent) said they had had trouble sleeping. “I’ve had sleepless nights since the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown… I’m constantly worried with the whole situation”, another person said.

Secom CareTech is a telecare provider of monitoring services, including personal alarms, fall detectors and GPS pendants.

A spokesman for Secom CareTech said: “We know how important it is for people to stay connected at this difficult time, so this year – to make sure we play our part in combating loneliness – we will be calling each of our CareTech customers on Christmas Day.

“We will call to wish them a merry Christmas and spend a few moments with them. We’ve also trained our monitoring team on how to signpost service users in case they’re experiencing a mental health crisis.”

Dame Esther Rantzen, the founder of The Silver Line, a 24 hour helpline for older people, has said home care workers are well-placed to direct lonely, older people to the helpline this Christmas.

Esther Rantzen has previously told homecare.co.uk: "All your readers need to know that The Silver Line helpline is free, confidential, open 24/7. When they visit people who are on their own, champion it for us because we know that it’s a big step that first phone call but it really does make such a difference for people to have the opportunity of feeling valued.

"It’s about sharing experiences, having a laugh, sharing memories, talking about their feelings.

"We need homecare.co.uk’s carers to be our ambassadors.”

You can listen to Esther Rantzen talking about loneliness at Christmas and The Silver Line in Episode 3 of the Let's Talk About Care podcast, recorded last year.

The Silver Line helpline number is 0800 4 70 80 90.