Video: Jeremy Hunt: we need to 'tackle' problem of elderly loneliness Entering old age "should not involve waving goodbye to one's dignity," the Health Secretary said as he called for families to look at how they treat elderly people. Jeremy Hunt told delegates at the National Children and Adults Services (NCAS) conference there is a collective "national shame" in ignoring the emotional needs of people in care homes or isolated in their own homes. According to the Campaign to End Loneliness, there are 800,000 people in England who are chronically lonely. Some five million people say television is their main form of company - that is 10 per cent of the population. Mr Hunt said that Britain has to decide as a nation that "loneliness and isolation" among elderly people is "something that we actually want to do something about."