Vulnerable told ‘get your own hot food’

Published: 31 March, 2011

• IN 2008 Camden outsourced meals on wheels (more recently “community meals”) to part of the multinational ISS on a three-year contract, originally due to end on June 2.  

This contract will not be renewed and Unison understands that current provision will cease from late autumn. 

This decision appears to have come without prior consultation with the service users, their carers or families, not to mention Unison as the union representing most staff, who are likely to face redundancy.

Camden social workers and assessors have instead administered questionnaires to current service users. 

To the best of our knowledge, these assessments have all concluded that daily hot meal delivery is no longer necessary, and have advised clients to order their own shopping, heat the meals themselves, or get family member or carer to shop and cook for them. 

Alternatively, they could be assessed as needing a home carer seven days a week to heat up the meal, but given the rising cost for this service, many would see this as too expensive. 

We understand that where anyone is assessed as needing someone to heat a meal, the client will be offered a carer (albeit at an additional cost) and will be provided with a microwave and freezer.  

In addition, assessments seem to have ignored the fact that many supermarkets offer, at best, a limited range of the specialist foods that the existing service has provided such as gluten-free, puréed or culturally specific products.  

This approach also ignores that in many cases health professionals originally assessed the client’s need for hot meal provision but, to date, we are unaware of any involvement from GPs or other health specialist.

Many of the clients are not able to heat up food safely; forget to eat or need a daily reminder and encouragement to eat; and some would possibly use any spare money on anything other than food so are a danger to themselves.

Many users of the meals service also rely on the day resource centres facing potential closure. With the potential loss of both, some of Camden’s most vulnerable residents face the prospect of life without a guaranteed hot meal and daily contact.

The current service provides a lifeline for scores of people. Staff know their clients and can either report any health concerns or summon necessary help before leaving. 

During the December 2010 snowstorms, many home carers were unable to reach clients, but the meals service still managed to ensure delivery in the adverse conditions and checked clients’ safety.

If someone is now “assessed” as able to do weekly or fortnightly orders of food and store them in a freezer, is it acceptable that days could pass without anyone visiting to check on their welfare?

A substantial number of clients cannot open their doors, so delivery workers hold keys for their properties. 

Will these users how entrust their door keys to a supermarket delivery department where a different person, not subject to a CRB check, might come each time.

Unison believes the demise of the meals service would remove an important early warning system and runs a serious risk of tragic consequences. Camden should reconsider and reverse this decision.

GEORGE BINETTE
Branch Secretary, 
Camden Unison