A cash-strapped council is scrapping face-to-face visits to the elderly in favour of video chats via a computer tablet in a trial, it emerged today.
Up to 40 OAPs in Essex will be given 4G Samsung Galaxy tablets to communicate with carers who will talk to them over Skype rather than visiting their homes.
But not everyone is happy about the trial, and experts have claimed it will leave elderly people isolated and lonely.
A cash-strapped council is scrapping face-to-face visits to the elderly in favour of video chats via a computer tablet in a trial, it emerged today
The move is part of a trial by Essex County Council and care company Essex Cares Limited.
They say it will introduce ‘a more convenient and prove a less intrusive method of interacting with a care worker, friends and family’.
But healthcare charities say ‘nothing can replace the essential human need for face-to-face interaction’.
The adult patients selected to take part in the trial will all have been referred by the NHS for short term care or reablement – a programme of support to help patients learn the skills needed for daily living.
They will also be given hands on training to receive video calls that will replace future interaction in person.
Yet Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard from the Royal College of GPs said that loneliness and social isolation, particularly for older people, can be the same as suffering from a chronic long-term condition.
She said: ‘Social isolation and loneliness are akin to a chronic long-term condition in terms of the impact they have on our patients’ health and wellbeing.
‘GPs see patients, many of whom are widowed, who have multiple health problems like diabetes, hypertension and depression, but often their main problem isn’t medical, they’re lonely.
‘The guidelines say we should be talking to them about their weight, exercise and prescribing more medication – but really what these patients need is someone to listen to them and to find purpose in life.’
An estimated 1.1 million people over the age of 65 are chronically lonely in the UK, and lonely people are more likely to develop heart disease, depression and dementia.
Cliff Rich, CEO of Contact the Elderly, the leading national charity for combating loneliness in older people, said: ‘Contact the Elderly’s work with lonely and isolated older people is founded on the basis of the clear value of face-to-face contact.
An estimated 1.1 million people over the age of 65 are chronically lonely in the UK, and lonely people are more likely to develop heart disease, depression and dementia (stock image)
‘We gladly recognise the amazing strides modern technology has made in helping all of us, and especially older people, with staying in touch with family and friends who may live too far away to visit in person.
‘However, we still believe that nothing can replace the essential human need for face-to-face interaction.’
But Essex Cares Limited believes the system will make the care system more efficient.
Chief Executive of Essex Cares, Keir Lynch, said: ‘We are delighted to be pioneering a new method of providing care and well-being across the county.
‘We are also very proud that we can offer innovative methods of communication within the care sector, which will hopefully enable more people to live as independently as possible.’
Funding for this project came from the Local Government Association through Essex County Council, in partnership with NHS Digital.
Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care at Essex County Council, John Spence, said: ‘It is important that we keep pace with new technology.
‘I am pleased that Essex is trialling this system to have a positive impact on people’s lives.
‘It will allow our vulnerable adults to live independently, providing them with something that is accessible from the comfort of their own homes.’