Check-in and Chat’ by Gaynor Baveystock…
A lady was recently referred to the new Check-in and Chat service that has been developed to support people who are experiencing feelings of loneliness and social isolation due to lockdown. Initially she was very confused when we asked if she wanted a volunteer to call. When she gets anxious, she worries about other things and finds it hard to concentrate. On our first phone conversation she jumped from one subject to another and was obviously anxious. She agreed for us to have a volunteer contact her as a trial. Although our volunteer reported the lady was very confused on her first call, she said she would persevere. She proceeded to phone daily for 5 to 10 minutes. After the first call she remembered her and relaxed enough to chat about her garden and things she enjoyed doing. The lady was concerned about her carers sometimes forgetting to leave her a drink, our volunteer suggested she talk to the regular carer. She did this and was happier afterwards and said she had drinks etc. They now enjoy a daily chat with each other and she is much more relaxed and settled! 

On the 14th of April I made a check in call for a lady who attends one of our social groups.  

She did not sound too well on the phone. She has her daughter helping out with her shopping and delivers it once a week to her doorstep. She was very emotional and pointed out that she feels an absolute sense of loneliness and it is getting depressing for her to be stuck at home. She misses human contact and pointed out that she felt isolated and shut away from people. Everything that she enjoys and had planned, such as holidays and meeting up with friends is called off. I reassured her she will be able to go on holiday again and meet up with friends after the lock-down. She’s afraid that life will not go back to normal again. She made it clear that she’s not bored at home, she uses a computer and reads, but she doesn’t see the sense of living like this. The whole COVID-19 experience she feels is quite inhuman.  

I tried to support her as best as I could over the phone. It was evident that she needed regular phone contact to have a chat. I reported Mrs. Richardson’s feelings back to my line manager and we arranged that we as a Social well-being team would give her a call weekly, taking it in turns. We introduced and explored the concept of PACE (Physical, Activity/Action, Connectivity, Entertainment). We try to motivate her and explore what she enjoys. She has expressed her appreciation and that we were the only team/organisation that had maintained their support and this has really helped her cope. We will maintain our weekly check in befriending calls to her.  

I made a telephone call to Mrs. A to check that she was managing well during the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

I found she was very happy with her grandson and his wife.  She told me that she was happy that Age UK cares about her and was pleased that someone who speaks Punjabi was calling her to check she was ok.  She understands that Age UK cares for her and likes the activities we engage her in.  She also told me that she is enjoying sitting in the garden and enjoying the warm weather. 

She told me that she is looking forward to coming back to the interactive club where she will see us and her friends. 

At the end of the call she told me she appreciated the call and was happy to know we cared and that it made a very positive difference to her. 

Mr R from Hayes, Middlesex 

I made a Telephone Care Call to Mr R to check that he was alright and managing well during the Covid 19 Pandemic.  I found him to be in good spirits and he was happy to speak with me. He said he was fine and he was being well cared for by the staff at his residence, and his family. We had a good chat including the activities he likes doing.  Mr R said he enjoyed going out into the garden as the weather had been warm and sunny.  

Towards the end of the chat, Mr R shared that Age UK have been the only charity to have called to check on him during the Covid 19 Pandemic.  He shared that other Health and Social Care organisations (one of whom he has personal involvement with) said they would contact him however, they didn’t. Mr R told me the exact number of calls I had previously made to him which I found significant. 

At the end of the telephone call, Mr R said he greatly appreciated the calls I was making to him and welcomed more in the future. I felt I made a positive difference and that Mr R felt remembered and valued. 

We had a phone call from a client Mrs J  in distress. Her and her son were both in the vulnerable group and shielding. We had previously offered to do her shopping, but she had declined as she had managed to book a delivery from a supermarket.  

On the day her shopping was due, she rang us distressed as her order had suddenly been cancelled. She was worried because her son needed fresh fruit and vegetables for his health, and they were relying on the shopping for essentials. She was upset as she did not have anyone to ask to go shopping for them.  

We took her shopping list and managed to find a volunteer almost immediately who very kindly spent time going round several local shops to buy fresh fruit, veg and essentials. The client said she was so relieved to hear we could help her as she really had nowhere to turn to. The volunteer dropped her shopping off by 3 pm that day.