The meals on wheels service in the UK traces its origins to the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service, now the Royal Voluntary Service, when local organisers started delivering meals to the ‘aged and infirm’ in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, who were struggling because those who would normally look after them were tied up in wartime duties.
Today, the meals on wheels service enables elderly and vulnerable people to live independently in their own homes. As well as a nutritious daily meal, it provides a much-needed social lifeline – in other words, regular human contact that eases the devastating isolation and loneliness the elderly often endure, and crucial well-being and safety checks.
The front-line service is also an essential preventative measure for more serious and costly health issues. Keeping the community’s elderly nourished and hydrated reduces malnutrition-related admissions to hospital, which are estimated to cost the taxpayer considerably more than the service itself.
For example, malnutrition costs the UK £13 billion a year – more than the cost of treating obesity-related illness – and £7.3 billion of this figure is directly attributable to caring for the elderly.
Last year, the National Association of Care Catering (NACC) exposed the fragility of the current meals on wheels service as government austerity measures forced councils to close or restrict services in an effort to operate with reduced budgets. NACC research of 211 UK top-tier councils confirmed that a third no longer provided a service and 51% expected to see further reductions in the year ahead.
With the future of the service in danger, the NACC has called on government to make meals on wheels a statutory responsibility, a message the organisation intends to reinforce through its promotional Meals on Wheels Week 2015 event.
Neel Radia, chair of the NACC, says: “To uphold a social care policy that encourages our increasing older population to remain in the community, with good physical and emotional well-being, the value of meals on wheels must be recognised and it must be protected.”
To generate support this year, he invited Peter McGrath, LACA’s new national chair, and Philip Shelley, the Hospital Caterers’ Association (HCA) national chair, to join deliveries in Harrogate and Bristol respectively to experience the impact the greatly anticipated knock on the door has on the lives of service users.
McGrath says the uplifting experience of recently spending a day with Harrogate Food Angels taught him that the hot meal was just one of the many valuable benefits the service offers the community.
Harrogate Food Angels was founded in January 2012 by Harrogate Neighbours Housing Association in response to local demand. It delivers approximately 100 home-made hot meals a day, from Monday to Friday, to 125 clients aged 60–103.
Each meal is freshly prepared on the day of delivery and, as it is the only hot meals service in Harrogate and the district, the Harrogate Food Angels van is proving a welcome sight for many.
A team of dedicated volunteers ensures that every meal reaches its destination but, as McGrath discovered, their role is so much more.
“Each delivery is made with genuine care and respect,” he explains. “The time is always taken to check that clients are fit and well, to help with other services and to spot potential safety hazards. But, most importantly, they listen and they chat with them.”
As 75% of the Harrogate Food Angels clients live alone, the importance of this regular contact is immeasurable.
“A passion for delivering a great service clearly runs through Harrogate Food Angels, from the managers and catering team to the volunteers,” says McGrath.
“The clients I met spoke highly of the quality of the food and they also described how much each visit means to them. It was clear that the service is invaluable in helping them to remain in their homes, which is where they want to be.
“I have no doubt that the meals on wheels service enriches lives on many levels and, without it, the community would certainly be a poorer place.”
Meanwhile, in the West Country, HCA chair Philip Shelley joined Bristol Community Meals Service. After completing his 28 deliveries, he said he was utterly convinced that the service was a vital part of the community.
A local authority operation with 480 clients aged 45–95 covering the Bristol City borders area, Bristol Community Meals Service offers hot lunchtime and cold evening meals 365 days a year, delivering around 400 meals a day and 350 at weekends.
It caters for all tastes, dietary requirements and cultures, and also an increasing number of users with dementia. Links with emergency services and care providers ensure the safety and well-being of clients.
A team of 16 drivers operate up to ten delivery vehicles daily, and Shelley says he was immediately impressed by their highly professional and respectful approach, qualities that were mirrored in the service given to each client.
He says: “My companion, Sally, had a great knowledge of the routes and the necessity of the safety of the service. But above all, she understood and appreciated how very important the service is to the clients.
“As well as being grateful for their meals, they clearly depended on the relationship. It was obvious that, for some, we were the only people they were going to see.”
In fact, over 70% of the services’ clients live alone.
Shelley concludes: “I was very proud to be involved with the service. The dedication of the team is exemplary and definitely improves lives in the Bristol area.”
Meals on Wheels Week 2015 carries the slogan ‘More than just a meal’ and runs 9–13 November. To get involved with your local delivery service and help the NACC to protect this vital lifeline, visit www.thenacc.co.uk for more information.