Call from NI GPs to tackle '˜epidemic' of loneliness

Dr Grainne Doran, a Bangor-based doctor and chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners Northern Ireland, made the comments as her organisation unveiled recommendations for dealing with the issue.

She also said that 10 minute-long slots which patients have with GPs – which she described as being “the current standard” – are not adequate for “getting to know what really matters” to them.

She cited figures supporting the idea that good social relationships are linked to better health, and also said that in the UK as a whole, three-out-of-four GPs “say they see between one and five people a day who have come in mainly because they are lonely”.

She said: “GPs and their teams have a key role to play in identifying people who are chronically lonely or who are at risk of becoming lonely.

“All too often, GPs are the only human contact that chronically lonely patients have.

“These moments of meaningful connection matter.”

Among the recommendations which the college has made is for every GP surgery to have someone who can help lonely people know “where to turn for support” – a job which it describes as “social prescriber” or “community navigator”.

The document outlining the steps it wants to see next – launched this morning – talks about “focusing on the emotional and spiritual health of patients”, and calls for a “national public health campaign to raise awareness” of the issue of loneliness.

Dr Doran, whose organisation has over 1,300 members in the Province, including the vast bulk of practicing GPs, said: “Loneliness has become a public health epidemic.

“As family doctors, we believe treating patients means listening to them and understanding their concerns – but GPs need time to care.

“Ten-minute appointments are unfit for purpose, but the extreme pressures on general practice means it can be impossible for GPs to spend longer with patients, getting to know what really matters to them.

“Tackling loneliness is about more than medical care.This is why we’re launching our community action plan to help tackle the problem and ensure GPs and their teams can provide the best possible care to lonely patients.”

The recommendations are:

l A dedicated professional for every GP surgery so lonely people “are supported to make the right connections”;

l Northern Ireland should “address workload pressures and make longer appointments an option” (the college said that while “10-minute appointments are not a set requirement”, they are “the current standard” – and increasing the length is difficult due to a lack of manpower);

l A national public health campaign to raise awareness of this issue should begin, encouraging everyone to take action by checking on their neighbours and getting involved in their community;

l Councils should keep an up-to-date database of community and voluntary groups and projects in their areas;

l Links should be forged between GPs and the voluntary sector;

l Educational resources should be given to GPs so people at risk of becoming lonely are identified earlier.

When it comes to how loneliness affects health, the college cited a 2010 piece of research which looked at 148 different studies (which had together involved almost 309,000 participants).

The findings indicated that the influences which social relationships have upon people’s risk of death are “comparable” to smoking and drinking, and “exceed the influence of other risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity”.

SEE THAT STUDY HERE.