Project to fight loneliness sees 100% success rate
A pilot NHS scheme to beat loneliness among patients has been branded a success.
Five specially trained ‘social prescribing link workers’ deployed at GP surgeries in Maidstone, Snodland, Southborough, Marden, and Borough Green have had a 100% success rate in fighting isolation in the last six months, a survey has revealed.
However, funding for the project, a slice of a £4.5m government grant, could end in 2021. The specialists help patients get involved with groups or activities that appeal to them. Early findings from an assessment of the scheme revealed all those who identified as “most severely lonely and isolated” felt a “significant improvement”, and as many as 62% of people felt more socially connected and less lonely. It is hoped more than 1,000 trained workers will be in place nationwide by the end of 2020/2021.
The surgeries involved in west Kent are The Vine Medical Centre in Maidstone, Marden Medical Centre, Borough Green Medical Practice, Snodland Medical Practice, and St Andrews Medical Centre in Southborough. The project is run as a partnership between charity Involve’s Connect for Wellbeing Scheme and the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Dr Bob Bowes, CCG chairman, said: “Not all health issues can be fixed with medicines. “Loneliness and inactivity can have an extremely negative impact on a person’s wellbeing. Helping patients to address these underlying issues has a positive effect on their life and their health overall.”