"Call your grandparents" appeal

21/09/2007

Help the Aged is calling on the public to contact their grandparents this Grandparent’s Day.
 
In the lead up to Grandparent’s Day, on Saturday 22nd September, a survey by Help the Aged and Zurich Community Trust reveals around 2.5 million (1 in 5) grandparents go for more than a month without seeing their grandchildren.
 
The survey, was carried out on behalf of Help the Aged and Zurich Community Trust’s programme, A Call in Time – a telephone befriending service for isolated and vulnerable older people. It provides a snap shot of the level of contact between grandparents and their grandchildren in Britain today.
 
The survey highlights geographical distance as a major factor when looking at the frequency of visits between the generations. It shows that 74% of the grandparents who go for more than a month without seeing their grandchildren live in a different part of the UK or in another country.
 
The survey also reveals that Italian grandparents are up to eight times more likely to live with or in the same building as their grandchildren and twice as likely to see their grandchildren daily than British grandparents.
 
The survey shows telephone contact is a key method of linking the generations which reflects the approach taken by the Zurich Community Trust A Call in Time programme. The service aims to combat isolation and loneliness through setting up regular phone calls to older people who don’t have anyone to call them.
 
According to the research, 65% of grandparents speak to their grandchildren on the phone at least once a week. Additionally, of the grandparents who live in a different part of the UK or country to their grandchildren a substantial 71% speak to their grandchildren on the phone at least once a month. However, 27% of this group still go for a month without speaking to their grandchildren on the phone.
 
Kris Turvey, A Call in Time, Help the Aged Programme Manger, says:
“Isolation is a common problem for older people in the UK. Being isolated can make even simple problems into major difficulties and can cause both depression and in some cases can force an unnecessary move into residential care."
 
A Call in Time service is part of a wider national programme of telephone support set up by Help the Aged and Zurich Community Trust. £500,000 is being invested over three years into eight pilot projects across Britain.