Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Social isolation: Moves to help older people at Christmas

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Alexander Stewart.
Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Alexander Stewart.

A Christmas loneliness strategy to help older people overcome social isolation during the festivities is being considered by the Scottish Government, MSPs have been told.

Older People and Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie pledged to examine “in detail” plans put forward by the Scottish Conservatives to tackle the impact on mental health of being separated from family and friends during the Covid pandemic.

The Scottish Conservatives have called on ministers to develop a strategy to enable older people to meet up over Christmas safely, after months of coronavirus restrictions.

Alexander Stewart MSP.

The proposal was raised at the Scottish Parliament by Alexander Stewart, Tory MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

Mr Stewart said many older people were suffering from “extreme loneliness” after months of separation from their family and friends.

He said recent decisions to tighten the anti-Covid measures had been “a real blow” to their “mental health, happiness and hopes”.

“As we approach the festive period we must ensure that processes are in place to support vulnerable individuals,” Mr Stewart said.

“So therefore will the minister back the calls from the Scottish Conservatives for a Christmas isolation strategy?”

Ministers examining Christmas loneliness plan

Ms McKelvie revealed minsters were “considering in detail” the plan Mr Stewart had mentioned.

She added the Scottish Government was due to report in December on its own national strategy on loneliness.

The minister said she recognised the last eight months had been “very difficult” for everyone and particularly hard for the elderly.

The Scottish Government had set up an Age Scotland helpline with £870,000 from a £1.6 million fund to support older people.

Ms McKelvie also said the Scottish Government’s £43m Connecting Scotland programme had been established to keep people in touch and data suggested 40% of those using the service were aged over 60.

Earlier at First Minister’s Questions, Nicola Sturgeon had said the dangers to mental health of elderly people at home, in hospital, or in care homes was “always at the forefront of our minds”.

Decisions on restrictions around care homes have been among the most difficult decisions that have had to be taken through the pandemic.”

Nicola Sturgeon

Ms Sturgeon was responding to a question from the SNP’s James Dornan, who wanted to know what action was being taken to tackle the problem.

The first minister said: “Decisions on restrictions around care homes have been among the most difficult decisions that have had to be taken through the pandemic.

“The latest care homes visiting guidance recognises the importance of ensuring that older people are able to maintain connections as safely as possible, and it looks to ease restrictions on visiting where it is safe to do so.

“Guidance has also been produced to assist care homes with strategies for promoting the wellbeing of residents and to provide advice on therapeutic interventions to help to manage increased stress and distress for residents resulting from any Covid restrictions.”