love0c
Not exactly. However, before informing social services do check with the couple as they may not want to involve them. Unfortunately SC do not always do what the person wants.
The problem with those that don't want to involve social services when they are in need of help is that it puts the onus on neighbours / family / friends to care for them when something like this happens.
My only family normally reside in South Africa, so I have set up a personal alarm system for myself (partially disabled) and my partner (almost completely disabled). We have 4 keyholders, two of them good friends of ours and two neighbours who were more than willing to be involved. An emergency call could, ultimately, trigger social services being involved, but we both accept that, as much as we want to remain independent, we cannot rely on others at the drop of a hat to cater for our needs if we cannot manage.
Many older people don't want to be a "burden" (a very sad state of affairs) on their family, but end up being just that because of it.
Neil Kinnoch warned us not to get old - or ill - how right he was. Social services are stretched beyond their limit and resources and little has been done to alleviate the issue - apart from a lot of talk and then the kicking into the long grass of the problem... and this isn't 'Boris bashing', the problem existed long before he came on the scene.
Family can only do so much, and many do. My own family want us to uproot and go live in South Africa so that they can be there for us in an emergency... but at age 80 (both of us) with multiple health conditions, this just isn't feasible - although I do day-dream about it sometimes.
But, to the OP, I think your friend needs to find out if the couple's family really are as disengaged as it appears they are - they might not even be aware of what's going on. But, regardless, they need to be informed.