Hot meals service will not be ditched in Telford

Telford & Wrekin Council is re-evaluating its current meals on wheels service and will be interviewing all its current users on their needs.

Those who are evaluated to need a hot meal will still receive one, while others will be given a cold meal that they can reheat themselves.

These two meal services will be run alongside a new "good neighbours service" to support people in their own homes.

The good neighbours service, which is being piloted for nine months initially, will see volunteers visit elderly and vulnerable people to check what meals they want, keep them company and perform tasks like collecting shopping.

Councillor Derek White, who chairs the council's health and adult care scrutiny committee, which has been looking into the current meals on wheels service, said that the daily visits from volunteers were an essential part of the service.

He said: "Every individual service user will be interviewed and an assessment will be made. Those people that need hot meals will still receive them.

"The part most people find valuable, though, is the friendly service where people go into homes and check on the users.

"Through doing our evaluation of the service, we have found evidence that this has saved a number of lives."

The Labour councillor said that this daily contact was helping more people to stay independently in their homes.

The council's current meals on wheels service is provided primarily by the Royal Voluntary Service.

They will be the ones tasked with running this new "good neighbours service" for the initial trial period.

If the pilot scheme is successful, the council will then put it out for tender to be run on a contract on a long-term basis.

The council has already approved plans to increase the cost of the hot meals service from £2.65 to £3.15.