Esther Rantzen visits Carmarthenshire

Dame Esther Rantzen has spoken to an audience of hundreds in Carmarthenshire about the work of the Silver Line, a free, confidential, 24 hour helpline for older people.

Dame Esther was guest speaker at the county’s free 50+ Forum Annual Event at the National Botanic Garden in Llanarthne today (Friday).

In August 2011, the founder of children’s helpline ChildLine in 1986, wrote an article about the loneliness she has experienced since being bereaved, and living alone. The response led to the setting up of The Silver Line in late 2013 with a £5m Big Lottery Fund grant.

The Silver Line Helpline provides advice and information including signposting callers to other charities and local services around the UK and also a friendship service. This includes a weekly telephone chat with a matched volunteer Silver Line Friend, Silver Letters and Silver Circles- a group conference style call on a topic of mutual interest.

Since national launch in November 2013, The Silver Line has taken over 550,000 calls. Over 1200 volunteer Silver Line Friends are making regular weekly friendship calls to older people.

Dame Esther praised Wales for having a Commissioner for Older People unlike in England and for having the first Children’s Commissioner.

She told the audience: “The most important question to ask older people is ‘What do you do for fun? A lot of our callers when we ask them say ‘Fun? Fun is for young people. I’ve not had fun in 10 years’.”

Welsh Government Health Minister Mark Drakeford described how three key pieces of legislation were going through the Assembly, as it had been decided to make social services a centrepiece of the legislative programme.

He said the Social Services and Wellbeing Wales Act aimed at a change of culture. He told the story of an elderly man who when asked what help he needed said he didn’t want someone to get him out of bed, someone at midday, and someone to help him go to bed and all day see nobody else and have no reason to get up.

“He said ‘I will struggle to get out of bed if you will send someone to take me to the bowls club’. What matters to you is at the heart of the Act,” he said.

The other legislation is the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care in Wales Bill which would involve lay people in looking at residential care with fresh eyes, and the final piece of legislation, the Public Health Wales Bill to increase the services offered at local pharmacies, he added.

Carmarthenshire County Council executive board member for housing Cllr Linda Evans praised the role of the 50+ Forum in consultation over affordable housing for older people where the council was investing in providing bungalows for older people to live independently.

She said the council had prepared an Ageing Well plan with the five themes of communities that were friendly to older people, friendlt to people with dementia, tackling the problem of people falling, work and skills, and loneliness.

Executive board member for social care and health Cllr Jane Tremlett spoke about the impact of dementia and said patience, tolerance and making time made all the difference. The person with dementia was the same person you had always known.

“Social inclusion is best phrased as ‘We are all in this together’,” she added.

50+ Forum Chairman Caroline Streek outlined the work of the Forum of almost 2,500 members, which includes Walking Well groups, helping older drivers improve their skills and gain confidence, and using the internet.

She said the work of the Silver Line had a resonance in Carmarthenshire which had an above average number of older people and social isolation.

“It comes across that social isolation, loneliness, affects more people more deeply than we might imagine,” she added..

There were information stalls from over 40 organisations, a wide range of taster sessions including arts & crafts, ballroom dancing, cookery, iPads; reflexology and botanical bingo, as well as guided walking tours giving an opportunity to learn about

botany, health and exercise.

The Silver Line is on 0800 4 70 80 90. www.thesilverline.org.uk