A helpline for lonely pensioners across Scotland was launched yesterday by Esther Rantzen. It’s a much-needed resource, as Gayle Ritchie discovers.
Loneliness is a serious issue for older people, estimated by the Department of Health in London to be as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and twice as damaging as obesity.
To combat the issue, the first free 24-hour hotline for older people, Silver Line Scotland, was launched yesterday by Esther Rantzen, who set up Childline 27 years ago.
Rantzen, 73, who is chairwoman and founder of The Silver Line, said: “It’s tragic older people feel so undervalued and isolated that some believe life is not worth living.
“Many people in Scotland have been calling from isolated areas, such as farms where the nearest town is a considerably expensive taxi ride away and there are no buses. There might be a husband or a son on the farm but, still, the older person has nobody to talk to from dawn to dusk.”
Silver Line encourages people to talk, “just that little bit more,” said Rantzen. And that can be tricky, when it comes to bringing reserved Scottish people out of their shells. “We’ve found that the chats in Scotland tend to be much shorter than those in Wales. There’s a reluctance to get into long conversation, as people can be quite reserved and speak only when necessary. It’s a wonderful part of the Scottish character but it can lead to isolation. When you talk to these people, you know there’s an underlying loneliness and it’s so sad. You need to share things, and it’s especially good to do so with people who aren’t family as you won’t feel you’re worrying them or being a burden.”
One of the most heart-wrenching conversations Rantzen experienced came from an elderly woman who said she dreaded winter nights, felt a “waste of space” and said all she did was talk to the TV.
The Silver Line Helpline has been piloted in the North West of England and in the Isle of Man, since November 2012, during which time it answered 7,000 calls from older people and it is clear that a phone call can be transformative. As one caller said, “When I put the telephone down, I feel I belong to the human race”. Another said, “It’s so good to talk to someone who actually seems to be interested in what I think.”
There was also a lady who revealed how alone she felt following her sister’s death, but now that she can ring The Silver Line she feels less suicidal.
Silver Line Scotland is being delivered by Age Scotland, answering calls from 8am-8pm on weekdays, in partnership with The Silver Line Helpline. All Scottish callers during office hours will be answered by Silver Line Scotland; outside those hours, calls will be answered in the UK Helpline headquarters.
Brian Sloan, chief executive of Age Scotland, said: “We take information and advice calls from around 12,000 people a year on a wide range of issues, from care costs and benefits to keeping warm in winter. This partnership is allowing us to extend the service, offering older people across Scotland access to accredited information, advice and now friendship. For some, the phone call may be just the start. And through our network of nearly 900 Age Scotland members groups, we will be able to help callers find out what else is in their community, such as lunch clubs, art centres or men’s sheds.”
The Silver Line’s UK-wide launch has been made possible by a grant of £5 million from the Big Lottery Fund. The grant will cover half the cost of running the line for two years and founding partners of The Silver Line are Comic Relief, Swiss Re and BT, which made the pilot phase of The Silver Line possible.
“The new Silver Line with its free 24-hour number 0800 4 70 80 90 will be the single memorable number we hope all older people will turn to when they need information, friendship or protection,” added Rantzen. “By showing them we value them and care about them, we will restore their confidence and feelings of self-worth.”
Volunteers who will become Silver Line Friends, providing regular friendship calls, are being sought. The service is free to callers and befrienders but the cost of telephone calls, of running the helpline 24/7, of volunteer recruitment and training is met by Silver Line and Age Scotland and depends on the vision and generosity of supporters.