Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira, said:
“Following the publication of a draft loneliness strategy by the Scottish Government earlier this week, and the announcement today that the UK Government has appointed a Minister for Loneliness, I am growing increasingly concerned that Wales is in danger of falling behind in terms of tackling loneliness and isolation, which has a devastating impact on older people’s lives.
“With a growing body of evidence making clear the effects of loneliness upon people’s mental and physical health and the costs to the public purse it creates, alongside the action now underway in other parts of the UK, older people across Wales will expect the Welsh Government to take meaningful action to address what is a key and growing issue.
“Whilst the Welsh Government have made a commitment to publish a loneliness strategy in 2019, I would urge them to expedite this process to ensure that we have a national approach in place as soon as possible to tackle this modern day epidemic and major public health issue.”
