Foreword

FORWARD

It is almost three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

Since last year, as most restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease were lifted and we began ‘living with COVID’, many people have finally been able to come together with their loved ones and friends and connect in person. Cafes, bars and restaurants have returned to being busier again, and workplaces have started to return to more face-to-face meetings. It is likely that 2022 was the first Christmas and New Year period that felt ‘normal’ for many people, however they chose to spend the national holidays.

Many of us will have felt alone or isolated over the last three years; during the pandemic, a million more adults across the UK had become chronically lonely. This disproportionately affected young people, people living alone, people on low incomes or unemployed and people with mental health conditions.

We know that having good-quality relationships can help us to live longer, happier lives with fewer mental health challenges and our support from social networks can strengthen our ability to bounce back after stressful situations. The Dalai Lama recognised this when he said:

“We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others’ activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.”

This is my first annual report since taking up the position of Director of Public Health in Gloucestershire; but I have been here working as the Deputy Director since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Gloucestershire in February 2020. What I saw during this time was the incredible power of social connections
across the county; the people of Gloucestershire supported each other, and this helped everyone to deal with the difficult circumstances.

I want to use this report as an opportunity to reflect on the challenges we faced, and what our county did (and continues to do) to ensure we keep these social connections flourishing and the importance of this for our mental and physical wellbeing.

And, despite the beginnings of recovery from the pandemic, 2022 was been equally full of change, anxiety, and emotion for many of us. The war in Ukraine, rising costs of living and pressures on services that help and support people, mean that it is more important than ever that we look out for each other and maintain our social links and networks to keep ourselves healthy and resilient.

Tackling social isolation and loneliness is not the responsibility of an individual, or just one organisation or group of people – everyone can play their part in supporting people who may be at risk of experiencing loneliness and enabling our communities to have the social connections they need and want.

We thought hard about what to name the report, but we settled on a title inspired by the famous poem by John Donne, “no person is an island”, because we all do need social connections to stay happy and healthy. I hope that this report offers an opportunity for you to reflect and think about how you can play your part in a more
socially connected Gloucestershire.

SIOBHAN FARMER,
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH
2022