In the UK, 1.3 million older people spend the equivalent of two months a year without seeing a single person. This stark statistic is at the heart of a new nationwide campaign by Bluebird Care, the franchise providing home care services to people across the country. Aimed at highlighting how carers can make a difference in the lives of the elderly, the franchise conducted a poll of 1,000 people to learn about the state of loneliness among over 65-year-olds.
And the results were pretty shocking. The findings suggest that while 4.5 million older people feel lonely either often or sometimes, 3.4 million wouldn’t admit that they’re feeling lonely to someone they trust. Additionally, some two million older people have spent an entire week without seeing anyone.
In light of these statistics, the franchise has launched its new campaign Every Visit Counts, which is designed to draw attention to the ‘loneliness epidemic’ and recognise how important home carers are in challenging the isolation the elderly feel. Centring around a dedicated microsite featuring polling results, interviews, an #EveryVisitCounts hashtag to encourage social media sharing and expert tips on beating loneliness, the campaign also features an impactful video showing older people spending time in silence at home, before a carer pays them a visit and cheers them up. It then closes with the statement: “You’ve just seen 90 seconds. Imagine two months.”
Explaining the motives behind the campaign and the content strategy, Duncan Berry, COO at Bluebird Care, said: “We are growing at such a pace that it is imperative we continue to get the best front line staff to meet demand. But we wanted to think beyond the obvious methods of recruiting such as buying adverts and reaching out through our own channels.”
“The franchisees have been extremely positive and already we are seeing results. In raising awareness of loneliness epidemic in the UK we are witnessing strong engagement with the brand, including people stepping forward to join our Bluebird Care teams to help combat loneliness.”
Bluebird Care is hoping its new campaign will help recruit carers in specific areas of the country where they’re needed most and raise awareness about the rise in chronic loneliness, something that Berry has called “a crippling yet silent a problem”.”
Sponsored Article
