Age UK Wiltshire has received £5,000 to go towards using digital technology to combat loneliness.

Retain Healthcare donated the money to assist with the charity's ‘Click & Connect’ project. that identifies older people in the county who would benefit from the use of technology, and who are keen to embrace this technology to improve their lives. Through the programme Age UK Wiltshire will identify suitable equipment, internet access and technical ability and also signpost to any grants or state benefits that a customer could apply for and to support them with an application.

David Trowbridge, Managing Director of Retain, said: “Social isolation is known to have a large impact in a person’s overall health and wellbeing, and so by helping to combat this we hope to see a knock-on effect on the rest their lives too.

“By working with Age UK Wiltshire on this project, we are able to refer the people we think would be open to improving the technology they have in their homes. Additionally, we hope that once using the technology becomes second nature for the older people we care for, that they can also pass on these skills to their friends and family, so spreading the positive impact of the project.”

Simon Billingham, acting CEO of Age UK Wiltshire, said: “The pandemic has, and continues to have an extremely negative impact on people’s sense of isolation and loneliness.

"This is made more acute for those who are not able to utilise technology to connect online." The generous donation from Retain, who share our ambition to promote independence, will help people to overcome these barriers and get connected. The ‘Click & Connect’ project is a collaboration between Age UK Wiltshire, Retain Healthcare, AbilityNet and Wiltshire Sight. A great example of joint working between a care provider and the third sector.”

Retain has offices in Chippenham, Salisbury, Cheltenham, Bristol and Bournemouth, for further information visit www.retainhealthcare.co.uk.