Impact on elderly ‘immense’

THE impact of the Leicester lockdown on older people has been described as “immense” by Age UK’s local executive director.

Tony Donovan who heads up the charity’s services in the city, county and Rutland, said: “Not only are older people struggling with being so isolated, practical issues are now beginning to impact on their welfare.

“Many are frail and so are unable to undertake practical tasks such as cleaning and gardening.

“Others have not seen their chiropodist for months and are beginning to have really serious problems with their feet, in some cases leading to hospitalisation.

“These may sound like trivial things to some people but they really aren’t for those affected.

“Keeping on top of cleaning and gardening is something a lot of older people take pride in. They rely on help to do that and that hasn’t been available.”

Age UK has reinstated its Home Help service.

Tony said: “Within two weeks of doing this, 200 people have asked us to do their cleaning which is a charged-for service. That goes to show the demand for it.

“For a lot of people this isn’t just about keeping their homes and gardens clean and tidy it’s about the interaction they have with the person who does that for them.”

The charity has also reintroduced its footcare service, which is operating on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Tony said even when lockdown is lifted there will be challenges for some people.

“Some older people already felt a burden before this, some now feel that even more,” he said.

“People feel scared to do a lot of things they are now allowed to because the rules were so strict at the start of all of this.

“It’s important we get the message out that, with the correct measures, people will be able to return to most if not some of the things they did before safely.

“We are now tasked with building up confidence.”