D219. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Domiciliary Care

Policy Statement

This policy is written to show this domiciliary care service deals with situations where an actual or potential user of its service is living in conditions of social isolation and is evidently lonely as a result. The scope of the policy extends to any situation it comes across in the course of delivering a service where it exercises a duty of care for others’ safety and wellbeing.

The policy reflects the fact that many people, particularly older people, live on their own and/or have little by way of informal social support from family and friends. Their being alone might be an important factor in the decisions taken when assessing and meeting their care and support needs, though it might or might not be recognised as a need in its own right.

In some cases, the care and support provided by the domiciliary care service can be the sole means by which the user has any social contact, although this might not be the main reason for the service provision. For some people, the social and emotional contact with {{org_field_name}}’s care workers might be as important if not more important to them as the physical care that is usually the main reason for the service provision.

For some people, the gains made in terms of their physical wellbeing can be offset by their continuing loneliness and social isolation and accompanying depression. For others, who receive a time-limited service, their wellbeing will clearly suffer once the service is withdrawn, if their circumstances remain unchanged.

There could also be situations where the person has lost or is losing the mental capacity to take decisions about their care and support needs and is at risk of self-neglect and can be effectively deprived of their liberty as a result of self or other imposed restrictions that perpetuate their social isolation.

Care Service Responsibilities

{{org_field_name}} recognises that local authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty to promote people’s wellbeing when assessing and meeting their care and support needs. They also have a duty to promote the wellbeing of people, who might not be eligible to receive care and support, but who could become eligible in the future.

For example, the LA could prevent the future needs for care and support of someone living alone and with no or only limited social support by enabling them to become part of a social network whose members will be able to “look out” for them.

{{org_field_name}} recognises that when acting as a service commissioned by the LA (and/or health authority) or when acting independently as with a private contract, it too must exercise a duty of care to promote wellbeing and to make sure that the people it is serving are well protected from harm or the risk of harm caused by social isolation.

{{org_field_name}} recognises that each situation must be looked at on merit and that the wishes and feelings and consent to any proposed action to reduce loneliness and social isolation requires the consent of the person involved. However, where it is evident that social isolation and loneliness is adversely affecting the wellbeing of a person to whom it could or is providing a service, it will consider taking the following actions.

Procedures

{{org_field_name}} is committed to a whole person approach, when working with partner agencies and when working independently. This means that it will always take a person’s social circumstances into account when assessing and planning to meet their care and support needs and promote their wellbeing.
Where it is evident that a person’s loneliness and social isolation is affecting adversely their wellbeing and is limiting the effectiveness and quality of the service, which {{org_field_name}} is providing, it will ensure that steps are taken to discuss the situation with all involved, not least the person using care services and act as required on the outcomes of those discussions.
If the person appears to be suffering from self-neglect or is seriously at risk, and does not appear to have the mental capacity to act to promote their own wellbeing or is being deprived of their liberty, {{org_field_name}} will treat the situation as a safeguarding matter and refer accordingly to the appropriate adult social care manager and/or the local safeguarding/protection authority.
Care workers are expected to report to their manager any situation where they have evidence that the people who use their services are being adversely affected by their social isolation, loneliness and possible depression.
{{org_field_name}} will always take steps where appropriate and practicable to ease a user’s loneliness by, for example, providing information and enabling and facilitating helpful social contacts, which could include alerting neighbours, relatives and friends, possible attendance at day centres or clubs and making contact with voluntary organisations such as Age UK.

Training

{{org_field_name}}’s care workers are trained to report to management signs of abuse that include self-neglect and deprivation of liberty and on how to advise and guide users of our service to ease any loneliness and reduce their social isolation.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}

Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}

Next review date: this policy is reviewed annually (every 12 months). When needed, this policy is also updated in response to changes in legislation, regulation, best practices, or organisational changes.

D219. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Domiciliary Care