County meals row hots up
Wednesday 24th February 2010, 11:21AM GMT.
Shropshire Council bosses today defended moves to scrap the county’s hot food Meals on Wheels service – but came in for a barrage of criticism from campaigners.
And a leading councillor was condemned for claiming the service was not “a meaningful form of social contact” for vulnerable and elderly people.
The authority says that £200,000 savings from proposed changes to the service will be used to support older people.
The council is proposing to stop delivery of hot meals and replace them with a fortnightly delivery of frozen meals, which its says will offer clients greater choice.
It claims that it has no intention to stop supplying meals but it is vital to supply them in the most effective way.
Simon Jones, cabinet member for adult services, said: “We need to be clear. This is not about removing services from anyone.
“Its about getting the right services for their needs.
“No-one wants to pretend that a knock on the door and handing over a meal is a meaningful form of social contact that will ensure someone is safe and well.
“That’s why we want to find ways of reducing unnecessary costs and investing any savings into better overall support for older people.”
But John Dodson, chairman of the Shropshire Association of Senior Citizen Forums – the county’s largest pressure group – said today: “If you were in industry you wouldn’t dare do what the council is doing. It is disgraceful the way they are going about things.
“There is a safety and social need being met by Meals on Wheels.
“What is being proposed is causing concern, anxiety and confusion.”
He urged the council to “step back” for at least three months to reconsider.
The changes will be discussed at tomorrow’s full-council budget meeting.
Currently 1,100 people in the council area have meals delivered. Of these 42 per cent receive frozen meals. The remainder receive hot meals.
Councillor Jones said: “Using the delivery of frozen meals means that the quality and choice of food on offer is much better.”
By Dave Morris
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Pardon the pun, but this is a taste of things to come. There are local authorities all over the UK making changes like these, and coming out with pretty much the same arguments in favour (presumably parrot fed to them by the Local Government Association)
This is about one thing – saving money. We all know the council is facing financial pressures (as are they all), so why not just admit it?
As for the leading councillor (not as yet names in the report above) – one presumes neither he or his family have need of such a service. After all, being a councillor is a well paid occupation, and *their* allowances never seem to be under threat of cuts, do they?!
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Fight this, you will be old one day and the way pensions are going you may need this service.
It’s not a savings – it’s a cost shifting excercise. Social services will find that old folk will be needing them more often becuse of lack of human interaction (with the regular meals-on-wheels folk) and costs of heating the meals will now get passed onto the old folk. (and inherrent costs/problems with needing to keep cooking facilities working/ accidents/gas & electric systems needing to be checked and wearing out unchecked). Some are very frail old folk and a regular visitor with a warm meal is a bit of humanity your measurments sadly can’t quantify.
Hope ye proud Councillors! I bet your spreadsheets look fine. Well, £200K savings maybe there are other things that need a closer look at first.
(I’m not a pensioner, but they people deserve better).
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If I was elderly, vulnerable and on my own, any form of daily social contact would be meaningful. The more of it the better!
Meals on Wheels services should be improved not cut back. Offer people a choice of hot meals or frozen or perhaps a mixture of both. If requested, daily home help should be provided to ensure that frozen meals are being prepared properly. Food, warmth and social contact are basic essentials and must be protected.
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Agree with Mr Chair. The hot meals service not only offers food it offers absolutely vital human contact for some desperately lonely and worried older people. £200,000? A top premiership footballer wouldn’t blink at paying that for a car. Wretched decision by gutless bean counters at the behest of a morally bankrupt government in thrall to their ‘city’ controllers.
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This is an ill thought out plan. There are many old people who cannot heat their ‘frozen’ meals as they are very poorly sighted, can’t walk to get to the kitchen etc. They need to be consulting with Occupation Therapists to realise this £200,000 cost cutting exercise will likely result in more going into homes or far greater increase costs for looking after people in their own homes. They will end up having a far greater bill = Meals on Wheels isnt’ a luxury = it is a vital service to many elderly people. A very poorly thought out strategy without question – this is what comes of allowing untrained people to make decisions about an important subject that they know little about.
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