Loneliness new threat

JACKIE SINNERTON LONELINESS is Australia’s new public health crisis, with an increasing number of people at risk of sickness and even early death because of a lack of companionship.

Top medical experts say the loneliness epidemic is crippling, and it is not just older people who are suffering from a lack of human connection.

The epidemic is so concerning that there have been calls for a federal Minister for Lone- liness, which have the support of the Australian Medical Association.

The number of people living alone in Australia has skyrocketed, while family breakdowns are also on the rise. The loss of neighbourhood connection and community gatherings such as attending church is also having an effect, which is all leading to a health crisis.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Harry Nespolon said GPs were seeing an increasing number of cases of extreme loneliness.

“It’s a serious issue and needs recognition,” he said.

“Over the years, cities have become very lonely places. The aged, young mums, even people who are in relationships can all be lonely.”

Projections by the Austra- lian Bureau of Statistics show a 43 per cent rise in the number of singles in Brisbane in the next 15 years.

Demographer Bernard Salt said connectivity was being crushed by technology.

“Life has changed so much that even 20-year-olds report feeling lonely,” he said. “In the past, young people were often in a relationship in their 20s but now it's a lot later.

“People who are working in big offices surrounded by coworkers are lonely. We don’t connect like we used to, messages are sent via phones and computers. Add that to the increasing aged population and I would suggest that by 2020 we will be facing a very serious problem of isolation, loneliness and possibly depression that we are not prepared for.”

The director of Public Health for the Australian Medical Association, Simon Tatz, believes that while the Government has instigated initiatives in the aged-care sector a much more comprehensive community focus is needed.

“While some may scoff at the idea of a Minister for Loneliness or a Minister for Social Inclusion, it certainly has merit,” he said.

AMA federal president Tony Bartone said the scope and seriousness of loneliness needed urgent focus.