A charity in Cardiff say local councils must take action to combat loneliness among old people.
Age Cymru say Wales is in danger of a ‘loneliness epidemic’, with more than seventy thousand elderly people in Wales suffering from some form of loneliness or isolation.
Iwan Rhys Roberts, External Relations Manager of Age Cymru, says the problem is down to spending cuts.
“We think there’s a big problem facing Wales, a lot of it is down to local authority cutbacks and closure of public toilets and day-centres. Our real fear is that unless something is done specifically to challenge this, then we will have an isolation epidemic in this area.
“Isolation can lead to many different things and can affect the health and well-being of many people, leading to things such as depression and suicide”.
He also says making the elderly feel more included in society is a good way to fight isolation.
“We just need to make sure that old people are able to get out and about, they’ve got good public transport, they’ve got places to go and friends to talk to”.
CJS News spoke to some elderly people at the Dalton Street Luncheon Club in Cardiff. They said sometimes their loneliness is too much to bear.
One man said: “Sometimes you feel rejected and wonder what am I doing here? and you accept it in the end”.
A woman at the club said: “There’s no one else there around you, you’re completely on your own, it’s a terrible feeling”.
According to the Welsh Government around 20% of the population of Wales is over the age of 65.
A spokesperson from the Welsh Local Government Association says “the local government shares the view of the importance on council services and appreciates that these contribute significantly to reducing pressure on other public services like the NHS”.
