From Isolation to Inclusion: Tackling Loneliness in Care Home Residents

Loneliness can be a potentially big problem for older people in care homes, and the real issue is that it can lead to mental and physical decline, making already unpleasant conditions much worse. Plus, it’s just not a nice feeling to have, of course. In care homes, people might be separated from their families and the homes they knew so well, and that’s why combating loneliness is such an important thing for care homes to do – and do well. With that in mind, here are some of the things care homes can do to make their residents’ lives less lonely.

Create A Sense Of Community

One thing that can work well, and something you’ll see happening in good care homes like Signature care home in Kingston, for example, is creating a true sense of community for the residents. If you’re able to make a warm and inclusive community, everyone, from the staff to the people living in the care home, as well as the residents’ families, will feel a lot more connected and supported, and they’ll know there are people around to help even when things start to feel lonely.

Although there are various ways to make this sense of community, having meals together at the same time, organizing game nights and movie nights, offering lots of clubs and activities, and so on can be great – it’s a way to give people the social interaction they need and ensure they stay as healthy as possible at the same time.

Encourage Family Involvement

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One of the biggest reasons for people in care homes to feel lonely is that they won’t see their loved ones as much as they would if they were at home – at least that’s the case for a lot of people (it won’t be true for everyone). That’s why a good care home that wants to combat loneliness will try to get families more involved with everything going on at the care home, and make sure that no one is alone for too long.

That means there will be lots of opportunities to visit, perhaps with longer visiting hours or no set visiting hours at all. Plus, there will be special occasions like birthdays and Christmas where families are specifically invited to enjoy a good time together. The more opportunities there are to visit, the better everyone will feel, so that’s something to look out for when choosing a home, if that responsibility falls to you.

Access To Technology

We’re so lucky to live at a time when technology helps so many people connect with one another, and there’s no reason why it should be any different in a care home – in fact, giving residents good access to the technology they need to connect with family and friends who aren’t in the care home is a great way to combat loneliness.

Care homes can allow access to things like smartphones, laptops, and tablets, for example, that can mean people can send messages and emails, do video calls, or even join in with online discussions about their favorite hobbies and past times. Residents might want to play computer games and connect with people that way, or maybe they’ll do research online that means they have more confidence when it comes to talking to the people around them – the more someone knows about a subject, the happier they’ll be to talk about it. Whatever the case, having that access to technology is vital.