By Nora McElhone

A NEW TELEPHONE befriending scheme hopes to help elderly or housebound people regain their connection with the outside world.

For many older people, especially those who live alone, life can become increasingly isolated as the years pass. Phone Friends is a new service which aims to make a connection between housebound older people and volunteers who can spare some free time to chat on the phone.

The scheme, which was launched in April, is managed by Age Concern Scotland on behalf of Perth and Kinross Council and in partnership with the Perth and Kinross Community Planning Partnership and NHS Scotland.

Lloyd Girling is the Age Concern worker for Perth and Kinross and is responsible for the co-ordination of the Phone Friends initiative. Lloyd worked in social work in Tayside from 1979 until his retirement from the region in 1996. In his time there, he covered every aspect of social work in one form or another. This role gave him an insight into the challenges faced by older people and, over the years, he built up a network of contacts which has been a useful asset in his work with Age Concern Scotland.

He explains why there is a need for a scheme such as Phone Friends, “One of our big concerns is that there is an increasing number of single householders today,” he says, “Isolated, vulnerable people living by themselves can become very withdrawn from the community.”

Older people can become locked in a spiral where they have little or no contact with people in their local community for various reasons. It could be that they have lost touch with family or friends because they moved to a different part of the country when they were younger.

Phone Friends aims to reach people who are feeling lonely or isolated and help them to open up and look at themselves as part of the community again. Lloyd explains; “We aim to find a neutral person for them to talk to two or three times a week.”

The befriender’s role is to encourage an isolated person to reconnect with others within the community. “Some people are very withdrawn and we try to give them back a little pride and self-confidence.” That might be by encouraging someone to reconnect with friends and relatives who they have lost touch with or helping them to build the confidence to go to a local luncheon club or other local facility.

Phone Friends is currently aimed at housebound older people living in the Hillyland, Letham, Fairfield, Muirton and Rattray areas of Perth and Kinross, with plans for expansion, “the idea is to establish and pilot the programme in these areas and then spread out. There are currently six users or beneficiaries, as we are confined to certain parts of the city because of the funding available,” says Lloyd. “We advertised for befrienders and have now got six volunteers who have been with us since February.”

The befrienders come from all walks of life. At the moment, they are all mature ladies. Some of them have retired themselves and are therefore aware of the kind of issues that older people may be facing and others are aware of the need for social contact from their experience of working in business over the years.

One of the volunteers is Sheila McIntyre, who responded to an advertisement looking for telephone befrienders in her local paper. “I thought it was a really good idea as there are times myself when I have felt a bit down,” says Sheila who is now retired from her job as a school cleaner. “I thought it was for me so I phoned up.”

Once she had registered her interest, Sheila, like all volunteers was required to pass a disclosure test and since then she has been attending monthly meetings with the other volunteers, where she can exchange ideas and learn how best to develop a relationship with an older person. “We are told how to approach the person. To be careful not to say something that would cause a problem.”

The scheme is currently focused on building relationships via the telephone, but the organisers are not averse to the idea of extending it beyond this remit. As Shelia points out, “you can meet the person if you feel that it would be appropriate—you just have to be careful.” Sheila has been allocated her first Phone Friend recently and is, “looking forward to getting stuck in. There is nothing I like better than a good blether on the phone!” she enthuses.

She has been encouraged by the experience of her Phone Friends colleagues, “One of the volunteers has already been invited to a wedding,” she says. Sheila lives in Perth, but, as she explains, “it doesn’t matter where the other person lives because you contact them on the phone.” Other volunteers are based in Blairgowrie and other parts of rural Perthshire.

One of the big challenges facing the scheme is, as Lloyd puts it; “how to reach the hard to reach.” At the moment, one of the main points of referral is through home care staff, but he is also looking at involving other groups who may come into contact with housebound older people, such as church elders or other healthcare professionals.

Although the scheme is in its early days, feedback has been positive so far, “it is quite a limited, gentle service,” says Lloyd, “but the older people have appreciated having a neutral person to talk to.” For some people, it is easier to open up to or to trust a volunteer, whom they don’t see as having an outside agenda, which can sometimes be their perception with healthcare or council staff. The confidential nature of the service is very important.

“The volunteers are still enthusiastic,” Lloyd adds, “their involvement is very positive. You know that it is working when you have a short conversation because something is happening and there are other things going on in their lives.”

Lloyd believes that a key factor in maintaining health and well-being for older people is having a family and support network. Phone Friends aims to help older people achieve this through building relationships and helping them to participate in their local community.

He hopes that the scheme will help older people to combat isolation and feelings of depression and is looking forward to seeing it expand to other areas. “The beauty is that you don’t have to live where the client is,” he says.

If you are interested in giving up some of your spare time to chat with an older person on the phone a couple of times a week, or if you know of someone who might benefit from being matched with a Phone Friends volunteer, please contact Lloyd Girling on 07749 880486.