Denmark Plans Social Referrals at Doctors to Help Lonely Patients

You may soon get doctor referrals for social groups in Denmark. A new national partnership aims to help lonely patients join local activities. Patients can access community groups directly through their general practitioners.

Many people visit their doctor because they feel socially isolated. However, medical treatments cannot solve loneliness. David Vincent Nielsen shared these details. He is a loneliness consultant at Ældre Sagen. He also chairs Folkebevægelsen mod Ensomhed. He stated that isolated patients need real companionship.

Under the proposed plan, doctors can issue a social referral. A professional or volunteer will then reach out to the patient. This person is called a bridge-builder. They talk with the patient about their needs. Then they help them find suitable local offers.

Activities could include knitting groups, card game clubs, or exercise groups. Patients can also choose to become volunteers themselves. Nielsen noted that lonely people face barriers when seeking activities alone.

The service still needs public sector funding to become standard. In 2017, the University of Southern Denmark calculated the cost of loneliness. It was 5.5 billion Danish kroner back then. Since then, loneliness has increased by 42 percent. Nielsen estimates the current cost at around 10 billion Danish kroner.

Lonely patients make at least 500,000 extra visits to doctors each year. Local regions pay for these doctor appointments. Social referrals could reduce healthcare costs by addressing loneliness early.

Pilot projects are already running in parts of Denmark. The new partnership brings existing efforts into one coordinated national model. The World Health Organization supports social referrals. WHO reports that one in five doctor visits involves nonmedical issues. The United Kingdom was the first country to use this policy. The UK now has 3,300 active bridge-builders.

Several major Danish organizations formed this new partnership. These include Ældre Sagen, the Danish Red Cross, Social Sundhed, DGI, Sund By Netværket, Not a Box, and Frivilligcentre og Selvhjælp Danmark.