Jeremy Hunt: it's a national shame

A recent Age UK poll of 2,000 over-65s found that 10% described themselves as lonely with 4 in 10 stating that their TV or pet was their main companion.

Research has shown loneliness increases the risk of ill-health and early death, prompting ministers to look out for people at risk of loneliness in their communities.

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary,  described these findings as a “national shame”. Moreover, "the problem of loneliness that in our busy lives we have utterly failed to confront as a society".

Society cannot turn a blind eye to this shameful problem. Last year the 'Friends' campaign demanded for a return to an "old-fashioned sense of neighbourliness" by encouraging people to look for elderly friends and neighbours.

This article is posted in conjunction with YOUMANITY's 2016 photography award, imAge, which aims to challenge stereotypes of older people. AGE UK and OPAAL are among the parteners of this important project.