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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Preventing Social Isolation and Loneliness Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that {{org_field_name}} takes a proactive and structured approach to preventing social isolation and loneliness among service users. Social isolation and loneliness can have serious consequences on an individual’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being, leading to depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, and increased health risks.

This policy outlines how we identify, address, and mitigate the risk of social isolation by implementing inclusive, person-centred support strategies and promoting meaningful social engagement.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All service users receiving domiciliary care services.
• All employees, including care workers, administrative staff, and management.
• Service users’ families, friends, and caregivers to support social inclusion.
• Community organisations, volunteers, and support groups collaborating with {{org_field_name}}.

It covers:

• Identifying and assessing the risk of social isolation.
• Strategies to promote social engagement.
• Staff training and responsibilities.
• Monitoring and reviewing social inclusion efforts.
• Legal and regulatory compliance.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy is implemented in accordance with the legal and regulatory framework applying to domiciliary care services in England, including but not limited to:

Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, in particular:

• Regulation 9 – Person-centred care, requiring care and treatment to be appropriate, meet needs and reflect preferences;
• Regulation 10 – Dignity and respect, requiring people to be treated with dignity, respect and support that promotes autonomy and involvement;
• Regulation 11 – Need for consent, requiring care and support to be delivered with lawful consent and with proper regard to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 where relevant;
• Regulation 12 – Safe care and treatment, requiring risks to health, safety and welfare to be assessed and mitigated;
• Regulation 13 – Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment, recognising that neglect, emotional abuse, discriminatory abuse and organisational abuse may include failure to identify or respond appropriately to severe social isolation, self-neglect or emotional deterioration;
• Regulation 16 – Receiving and acting on complaints, requiring accessible systems for concerns, complaints and feedback;
• Regulation 17 – Good governance, requiring effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of services and maintain accurate, complete and contemporaneous records;
• Regulation 18 – Staffing, requiring sufficient numbers of suitably competent, skilled and experienced staff with appropriate training and support; and
• Regulation 20 – Duty of candour, requiring openness and transparency where a notifiable safety incident occurs.

This policy also supports compliance with:

• Care Act 2014, especially the general duty to promote individual well-being and the preventative principle;
• Equality Act 2010, to ensure people are not disadvantaged or excluded because of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, or pregnancy and maternity;
• Mental Capacity Act 2005, where decisions about social participation, contact, routines or access to the community may require assessment of capacity and best-interest decision-making;
• UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, where personal information about social needs, emotional wellbeing, family contact and risks is recorded, shared or reviewed.

The service will also have regard to current CQC guidance on the fundamental standards and the CQC assessment framework quality statements, including person-centred care, equity in access, involving people in decisions, and responsive care.

This policy must be read alongside the organisation’s policies on care planning, safeguarding, consent and mental capacity, complaints, record keeping, confidentiality, equality and diversity, incident reporting, staff training, supervision, and quality assurance.

4. Identifying and Assessing the Risk of Social Isolation and Loneliness

{{org_field_name}} will identify, assess, document and review the risk of social isolation and loneliness as part of the initial assessment, care planning process, ongoing review, and day-to-day delivery of care.

The assessment process will include, where relevant:

• the person’s own view of loneliness, isolation, companionship, relationships, beliefs, routines, social history, hobbies, interests and preferred level of contact with others;
• family involvement, friendship networks, informal support, advocacy arrangements and access to community resources;
• barriers to social participation, including mobility issues, frailty, dementia, cognitive impairment, sensory loss, communication needs, language needs, digital exclusion, anxiety, depression, bereavement, transport issues, financial hardship, stigma, rural isolation or unsafe environments;
• risks associated with self-neglect, withdrawal, low mood, declining motivation, poor nutrition, missed medication, reduced confidence, or deterioration in physical or mental wellbeing;
• any protected characteristics or cultural, religious or lifestyle factors that may affect how the person wishes to maintain social connections and meaningful occupation.

Risk assessment must be person-centred and must not assume that living alone, being older, or declining activities automatically means a person is socially isolated. Staff must explore with the person what matters to them, what a meaningful day looks like, who they want contact with, and what support they want from the service.

The outcome of the assessment must be clearly recorded in the care plan and risk assessment documentation, including:

• identified risks or protective factors;
• the person’s wishes, preferences and consent to support offered;
• agreed actions to maintain or improve social connection;
• any referrals, escalation or signposting required; and
• review dates and indicators that would trigger earlier reassessment.

Where staff identify a significant change in presentation, withdrawal, emotional distress, suspected depression, self-neglect, safeguarding concern, or rapid deterioration in wellbeing, this must be escalated promptly in line with the organisation’s safeguarding, incident reporting and clinical escalation procedures.

5. Planning and Delivering Support to Reduce Social Isolation and Loneliness

Support to reduce social isolation and loneliness must be tailored to the individual and agreed, wherever possible, with the service user. Interventions must reflect the person’s wishes, strengths, communication needs, culture, faith, identity, relationships, routines, and desired level of independence.

Depending on assessed need and the agreed care plan, the service may support people by:

• enabling and encouraging contact with family, friends and other significant people through visits, telephone calls, video calls, letters, messaging or other preferred methods;
• supporting attendance at community activities, faith groups, day opportunities, appointments, clubs, education, volunteering or recreational opportunities;
• promoting meaningful occupation at home, including conversation, reminiscence, reading, music, crafts, gardening, games, correspondence, life-story work or activities linked to the person’s previous interests and identity;
• supporting access to digital technology where appropriate and wanted, including assistance with basic use of phones, tablets or communication platforms;
• signposting or referring, with consent where appropriate, to befriending services, community groups, social prescribers, advocacy services, local authority services, voluntary organisations or specialist support;
• reducing practical barriers to participation, including support with preparation, mobility, confidence building, communication support and coordination with relatives or other professionals.

Staff must not pressure people into unwanted social contact or activities. A person may choose privacy, quiet routines or limited social engagement, and these choices must be respected unless there is evidence of risk, coercion, neglect, abuse, impaired capacity, or a significant deterioration in wellbeing.

Where risks are identified in relation to community access, visitors, transport, emotional distress, exploitation, or digital use, these must be assessed and managed proportionately. Support should promote positive risk-taking and independence wherever possible.

All agreed actions and outcomes must be recorded in the care plan, daily notes, contact records or review documentation as appropriate.

6. Staff Training, Competence and Responsibilities

All staff have a responsibility to recognise, respond to and record concerns relating to social isolation, loneliness and emotional wellbeing within the limits of their role.

The Registered Manager is responsible for:

• ensuring this policy is implemented and reviewed;
• ensuring assessments, care plans and reviews properly address social and emotional wellbeing where relevant;
• ensuring staff are trained, supervised and competent;
• monitoring records, audits, incidents, complaints and feedback for themes relating to isolation or unmet social needs; and
• taking action where shortfalls are identified.

Care staff and support workers are responsible for:

• building respectful, professional and person-centred relationships;
• observing and reporting signs of loneliness, withdrawal, low mood, self-neglect or changes in presentation;
• delivering care in line with the agreed care plan;
• recording relevant information accurately and promptly;
• escalating concerns in line with safeguarding, mental capacity, health deterioration and incident reporting procedures.

Office staff, coordinators and supervisors are responsible for:

• ensuring visit schedules, continuity and communication arrangements support relationship-based care where possible;
• responding to concerns raised by staff, people using the service or relatives;
• arranging reviews, referrals or professional input where required.

Staff training and supervision must include, where relevant to role:

• person-centred care;
• communication skills;
• equality, diversity and human rights;
• mental capacity and consent;
• safeguarding adults;
• recognising deterioration in mental wellbeing, including low mood, bereavement and self-neglect;
• professional boundaries and confidentiality;
• record keeping and escalation;
• local community resources and signposting pathways where relevant to the service model.

Competence in this area will be supported through induction, supervision, spot checks, observations of practice, care record audits and refresher training.

7. Consent, Confidentiality, Safeguarding and Escalation

Support under this policy must always respect the service user’s rights, choices, privacy and dignity.

No intervention to increase social contact, make referrals, share information with family members, or involve external agencies should be undertaken without the person’s consent unless there is another lawful basis to act, such as safeguarding, vital interests, legal obligation, or a best-interest decision where the person lacks capacity.

Where there is doubt about a person’s capacity to make a specific decision relating to contact, participation, support arrangements or information sharing, staff must act in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the organisation’s consent and capacity procedures.

Staff must maintain confidentiality and only share information on a need-to-know basis and in accordance with data protection law and organisational policy.

Concerns about abuse, neglect, self-neglect, coercion, exploitation, significant withdrawal, unexplained deterioration, severe emotional distress or unmanaged risk must be reported and escalated without delay in line with safeguarding and incident reporting procedures.

Where a person, family member or representative is dissatisfied with the support provided under this policy, they must be informed of how to raise a concern or complaint and reassured that this will be taken seriously and responded to fairly.

8. Review of Individual Outcomes and Ongoing Monitoring

The service will review whether support to reduce social isolation and loneliness is effective, proportionate and aligned with the person’s wishes and changing needs.

Review will take place:

• at planned care reviews;
• when there is a significant change in need, risk, presentation or circumstances;
• following hospital admission, bereavement, safeguarding concern, complaint, or notable deterioration in wellbeing; and
• following feedback from the person, family, advocate, staff or professionals.

Reviews will consider, where relevant:

• whether the person feels listened to, connected and involved;
• whether agreed interventions are being delivered and remain suitable;
• whether the person’s outcomes, preferences or consent have changed;
• whether risks have increased or reduced;
• whether further referrals, professional input or safeguarding action are required.

Review outcomes must be documented, and care plans and risk assessments must be updated promptly.

9. Governance, Audit and Continuous Improvement

{{org_field_name}} will use governance systems to assess, monitor and improve how effectively the service identifies and responds to social isolation and loneliness.

This will include, where relevant:

• audits of assessments, care plans, risk assessments, daily records and reviews;
• supervision findings, spot checks and competency observations;
• trends in complaints, compliments, incidents, safeguarding concerns and hospital admissions;
• feedback from service users, relatives, advocates and staff;
• review of missed opportunities, barriers to social inclusion and whether referrals or signposting were effective.

Where audits or reviews identify poor recording, lack of person-centred planning, failure to act on deterioration, or unmet social and emotional needs, the Registered Manager must ensure corrective action is taken. This may include revision of care plans, staff supervision, refresher training, review of staffing arrangements, update of local resource information, or wider service improvement action.

Evidence of monitoring and improvement must be retained in accordance with the organisation’s governance and record retention procedures.

10. Record Keeping

Staff must make accurate, complete, legible and contemporaneous records relating to social isolation and loneliness, including assessments, identified risks, agreed support, consent, referrals, reviews, changes in presentation, concerns raised, actions taken and outcomes achieved.

Records must clearly demonstrate how the service has involved the person, respected their choices, assessed and managed risks, and reviewed whether support remains appropriate and effective.

Poor, delayed or incomplete recording will be addressed through supervision, audit and, where necessary, further training or performance management.

11. Policy Review and Updates

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where required due to:

• changes in legislation, statutory guidance, CQC regulations, CQC guidance or best practice;
• learning from complaints, incidents, safeguarding concerns, audits or quality assurance activity;
• changes to the service model or service user group;
• feedback from service users, relatives, advocates, staff or professionals;
• recommendations arising from CQC inspection, local authority review, or other regulatory or commissioning activity.

The Registered Manager is responsible for ensuring that any revised version of this policy is communicated to staff and implemented in practice.

12. Conclusion

By implementing this Preventing Social Isolation and Loneliness Policy, our domiciliary care organisation ensures that all service users are supported in maintaining social connections, emotional well-being, and a fulfilling quality of life. Through comprehensive assessments, proactive interventions, staff training, and community collaboration, we effectively reduce the risks associated with social isolation and loneliness while upholding CQC and legislative standards.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
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