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Meals on wheels service scrapped in parts of Scotland

9th Apr 2018 - 08:00
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meals on wheels, services, Scotland
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The meals on wheels service has been withdrawn from many parts of Scotland.

Deliveries by volunteers from the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) have now ended in Moray, Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire, according to the BBC.

The service will be completely withdrawn in Scotland by the end of the year, Third Force News reports.

Speaking to BBC, director Sam Ward said: "We lost a number of the services for a number of reasons. Some of them it's because the local authorities have gone out to tender and commercial companies have come into that space and taken those services.

"In other cases, because of all the pressures on the finances of local authorities, they've decided that they aren't going to actually continue with these contracts.

"That means over a period of the last few years we've gone from having over 80 services - we're just down to seven in Scotland and only 15 across the whole of the UK."

She said it has become more and more difficult to support these services and to help people deliver them safely on the ground.

In a petition urging the service to continue, signed by over 3,000 people, Gary Watson, volunteer at RVS, said: “Meals on wheels is a service which delivers a hot, nutritious, two-course meal to the homes of elderly and vulnerable individuals who often experience difficulty getting shopping and cooking their own meals.

“Many people we deliver to are lonely and often we may be the only person they have spoke to face-to-face, or at all, all week. This is why meals on wheels is such an important service as the elderly are experiencing well-needed and sought after social contact, as well as a hot meal and a regular check to ensure they are safe and well.”

 

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