Within the framework of the fight against unwanted loneliness, the Logroño City Council and the Official College of Pharmacists of La Rioja have presented this week an initiative to detect this circumstance among older people. As one of the measures of this campaign, framed in the local initiative ‘Logroño Acompaña’, pharmacies in Logroño will have a “mailbox of loneliness” to detect the lack of company among the group of those over sixty years of age. These will be reviewed weekly and, if necessary, will give the green light for an effective response to the situation.
Not in vain, unwanted loneliness is especially prevalent among elderly people who, over the years, may have lost life partners and do not always have a social or family network to watch over them. “The Logroño City Council has been working on supporting the elderly for some time. In the case of unwanted loneliness, it is a transversal problem of society that cannot leave anyone indifferent,” the president of the Official College of Pharmacists of La Rioja tells ConSalud.es, Mario Dominguez.
“The trust that citizens have in their pharmacist puts us in a unique position for this task, we are the medicine specialists, but we also have that tremendously useful social aspect”
In this way, the new step that has been taken has been to incorporate pharmacies in the strategy to support these people, taking advantage of their wide territorial dispersion and their great proximity to citizens. “Every 20 days, the equivalent of the entire population of our community passes through the pharmacy in La Rioja. The trust that citizens have in their pharmacist puts us in a unique position for this task, we are the specialists in medicine, but we also have that social aspect tremendously usable,” Domínguez points out.
In this context, pharmacies are presented as an ideal point to detect the alerts that surround older people immersed in the cruel abandonment of unwanted loneliness. Not in vain, it is common for these places to act as a meeting place for citizens and serve to “take the pulse” of society. “People tell your intimaciesfinancial problems, health problems or countless concerns, so we can more easily survey those who are having a hard time,” says the pharmacist.
“It is important now to make it extrapolated and to work together, hand in hand with the Ministry of Health, to extend it to the rest of the pharmacy offices throughout La Rioja, especially those located in the towns”
The doors are now open for pharmacies from Logroño that wish to join the initiative, “About half have already done so”Likewise, the head of the Rioja pharmacists explains that the idea is to “increasingly expand” the number of offices dedicated to the detection of this isolation in the elderly. Along these lines, Domínguez assures that “it is important now to make it extrapolated and to work together, hand in hand with the Ministry of Health, to extend it to the rest of the pharmacy offices throughout La Rioja, especially those located in the towns. ”.
In this sense, around half of the Rioja population is spread outside the capital along small rural towns. In these towns, the threat of unwanted loneliness is especially present and, with it, the essential socio-health work of pharmacists. “The pharmacy is a health service that goes where practically no other service does, and allows people in towns to live longer and with a better quality of life. Without pharmacies, possibly many older people would have to go to the city,” highlights the college president.
The interested pharmacists themselves have received “training” from Social Services technicians to “define indicators” that may be significant for the existence of this loneliness.
The role of pharmacies in detecting unwanted loneliness among the elderly goes beyond enabling a mailbox and reporting the incident to the support team. ‘Logroño Accompany’. The interested pharmacists themselves have received “training” from Social Services technicians to “define indicators” that may be significant for the existence of this loneliness. From this point on, the appropriate services must take care of offering them “a permanent care and continued over time,” concludes the pharmacist.
“RECOGNIZE THEIR WORK”
During the presentation of this program last Monday, the mayor of Logroño, Conrado Escobarhighlighted the “fundamental role that Logroño pharmacies play in the detection of unwanted loneliness, which become fundamental allies due to their accessibility and the large number of elderly people who frequent them daily, trusting in them as points of reference in the care of their health.”
“Many pharmacies were already playing this role informally, providing additional care, advice and support to older people who access their establishment”
In this sense, the mayor of Logroño stressed “that many pharmacies were already playing this role informally, providing additional care, advice and support to older people who access their establishment. This initiative not only promotes organizing something that in many cases is already being carried out, but also formally recognizes this great work.”
ConSalud’s content is prepared by journalists specialized in health and endorsed by a committee of top-level experts. However, we recommend that the reader consult any health-related questions with a healthcare professional.
