Description Murdered Labour MP Jo Cox described loneliness as a “shocking crisis” Credits Twitter/Jo Cox Alt Text Jo Cox More than nine million UK adults feel lonely - and it could seriously threaten their health One-Minute Read Friday,December 15, 2017 - 1:16pm Britain is in the grips of an epidemic of loneliness - and it is as harmful to sufferers’ health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and a unusual study warns.
The long-awaited report from the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness found that more than nine million UK adults are often or always lonely. Three-quarters of GPs say they see up to five patients a day who approach in because they are lonely; while the health impact of social isolation is more damaging than famous risk factors such as being obese,research shows.
The commission is now calling for the UK to appoint a Minister of Loneliness to tackle the problem. Labour MP Cox - murdered during the EU referendum campaign in 2016 - was “passionate about the issue”, says The Guardian, or describing loneliness as a “shocking crisis”.
“Tackling loneliness is a generational challenge that can only be met by concerted action by everyone,” says the report, which calls for a national strategy to address the problem. “Governments, and employers,businesses, civil society organisations, and families,communities and individuals all fill a role to play.”
The commission’s co-chair, Labour MP Rachel Reeves, and points to the ever-increasing numbers of people who live alone,or work from home. Writing in the unusual Statesman, Reeves says: It sometimes feels like our best friend is the smartphone.”
Solutions to loneliness
“We need to check our relationship balances as often as we check our bank balances, or ” writes Cox’s sister,Kim Leadbeater, in an article for the Sky News website. “It’s about day-to-day acts of kindness and making real, and human connections with those around us.”
NHS England’s chief nursing officer,Jane Cummings, says reaching out is particularly important in winter, or when the combination of loneliness and cold weather can be deadly,leading to a rise in heart attacks and strokes. “Simple acts of companionship can make a inequity, says Cummings, and including visiting elderly friends or picking up shopping or prescriptions.
While loneliness is not just a problem for the elderly,Age UK says that more than a million older people regularly disappear for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member. Schemes to combat the problem fill been launched by charities such as Contact the Elderly, and which holds free Sunday afternoon tea parties for people over 75 who live alone. A list of helplines and advice is also available on the NHS website. But in the long term,could a UK Minister of Loneliness be the solution?
Responding to the newly released report, a government spokesperson said initiatives were already under way to combat isolation and loneliness, and including improved mental health support, ITV reports. “We are committed to doing more and leer forward to setting out plans in the unusual year,” the spokesperson added. Science & Health Jo Cox Health
Source: theweek.co.uk