tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post5114623306917925778..comments2024-02-10T12:12:06.028+00:00Comments on The Real Blog: The policy lever to tackle lonelinessDavid Boylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11410159311875228620noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-51983314326577531042014-02-18T23:00:01.897+00:002014-02-18T23:00:01.897+00:00Loneliness is none of the government's busines...Loneliness <i>is</i> none of the government's business.<br /><br />Evidence-based policy is an oxymoron, of course. Even if you had all the evidence in the world all it could tell you is how to meet a given goal. <br /><br />Policy is about deciding which goals society ought to be seeking.<br /><br />And no amount of evidence can tell you that, because that's a question about values.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-51846425469854229582014-02-18T19:41:39.470+00:002014-02-18T19:41:39.470+00:00I remember well the first day at Rushey Green, sur...I remember well the first day at Rushey Green, surveying 'patients' to identify things they might 'need'. One lady was defensive and watched me from a distance after I had interviewed her. She came back later to ask why I had spent more time with others. Turns out I had asked her the questions the wrong way around - I had asked her what she wanted to receive - yet she was too proud to say her needs. So I then asked her what she could offer and she was ready to reel it all off - to walk other people's dogs, babysit, garden, do out-of-hospital phone calls. If I had started with THAT in the first conversation we would have got off to a much better start. There is the nub of it: the medical profession is all about fixing the broken; we need a different system to simply release the natural innate skills and energy that our society has managed to block and de-energise with its consumerism, individualistic approach. Seems to me that the governments role on this should begin and end with facilitating community spaces - the parks, concerts, theatres, playgroups, lunch clubs etc where culture is explored and enjoyed and people can be. Not sure it needs any evidence at all - it is plain common sense....Bernienoreply@blogger.com