\u201cIf I\u2019d known how old I was going to be, I\u2019d have taken better care of myself\u201d. So the Hungarian \u201cfilm mogul\u201d, Adolph Zukor, once famously remarked. In reality, as the founder of Paramount Pictures, he had the economic means to ensure that he was well looked after in his later years and indeed survived until the age of 103.<\/p>\n
Thousands of old people in the UK are, however, in a far less fortunate position \u2013 despite the boast by Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne in his budget speech to Parliament on 18th<\/sup> March, that \u201cthe sun is shining again on Britain\u201d. As the Guardian columnist, Simon Jenkins, pointed out the following day,\u201dlocal government services, including for the elderly and the infirm, have been butchered\u201d. Furthermore, as a result of austerity \u201cMany vunerable people have been hurt\u201d.<\/p>\n So who exactly takes care of them? Not, it seems, the local authorities, not any more, due to drastic cuts in government funding. Research conducted by the charity \u201cAge UK\u201d in October 2014 suggested that there are 1.6 million pensioners in Britain living below the poverty line and \u00a0\u201ca startling 900,000 in severe poverty\u201d.<\/p>\n A report issued by the Labour Party in January revealed that 109,000 people had \u201cmeals on wheels\u201d delivered to them in 2014\/15 compared to 296,000 in 2009\/10 \u2013 a decline of around 63%. It also quoted the opposition spokesman for care and elderly people, Liz Kendall, as emphasizing that \u201cHaving a decent meal and contact with someone at least once a day is a lifeline for many elderly people\u201d. Councillor Izzi Seccombe of the \u201cLocal Government Association” (LGA) asserted that Councils are trying to protect the elderly from the impact of cuts but that \u201cthere is simply not enough money in the system to provide the level and quality of care that people deserve”.<\/p>\n In the opinion of Neel Radia, Chairman of the \u201cNational Association of Care Catering\u201d (NACC), the Community Meals Service enables older people to live in their own homes for longer, helps maintain their physical and emotional well-being and thereby reduces pressure on the NHS (National Health Service). Abolishing the service is thus \u201cincredibly short-sighted\u201d.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s precisely what\u2019s happening in many parts of the UK \u2013 or the cost of the meals is being increased. The Stoke-On-Trent City Council is planning to \u201cdecommission its Meals on Wheels service as from April to save \u00a380,000 per year. The people who use it will have to make alternative arrangements\u201d. Caerphilly Council in Wales intend to do likewise \u201cas part of its bid to save \u00a36.5m for the 2015\/16 financial year”. In Northern Ireland (according to BBC News), the South Eastern Health Trust has taken a \u201ccost-effective decision” to deliver frozen meals every two weeks, instead of an everyday service, although \u201ccarers will still visit those who need help to heat or eat meals\u201d.<\/p>\n There are exceptions to this trend: The \u201cShropshire Star\u201d has reported that volunteers belonging to “Mencap” (the learning disability charity) “have agreed to take on the delivery of hot meals in Llanfyllin (Wales), which were due to finish as part of budget cuts by Powys County Council\u201d. In January, Hammersmith & Fulham Council announced that it would \u201creduce the prices of meals on wheels by a third to help the elderly stay healthy by enjoying good quality food\u201d. This would be achieved by \u201ccutting the number of senior managers and the costs of office space, cancelling the Council\u2019s public relations (PR) expenditure and negotiating more effectively with suppliers and property developers\u201d.<\/p>\n The current charges for \u201cMeals On Wheels\u201d vary widely across the UK. In Bury, Lincolnshire, it\u2019s \u201c\u00a34.65 a day for the hot main meal and dessert, \u00a32.88 a day for the snack tea-time service and \u00a33.50p for a frozen meal.\u201d In Trafford, Manchester: \u00a33.50 a day for the hot main meal and dessert. In Sutton, deliveries are between 11am -2pm, at a cost of \u00a33.70 for a hot meal and dessert; In Lewisham, \u00a33.50 for a hot meal or \u00a33.15 for a frozen meal consisting of a main meal and dessert.<\/p>\n Wandsworth Council has started to offer money instead to those of its residents who receive meals on wheels, which they can \u201cuse to pay the cost of having fresh food and produce delivered to their front door by supermarkets such as Sainsbury\u2019s and Tesco\u201d. Wandsworth does, though, \u201cprovide microwave ovens to people who choose to receive frozen meals and this could also be extended to those who previously received pre-cooked meals, if they meet financial eligibility rules\u201d. It also notes that \u201cA single pre-cooked meal delivery costs a total of \u00a38.82. Although the Council subsidizes part of this, the remaining \u00a34.75 must be met by the user themselves\u201d.<\/p>\n The \u201cRoyal Voluntary Service\u201d describes itself as \u201cthe original Meals On Wheels provider. They deliver \u201ctwo million meals a year to people who have difficulty with shopping, carrying food home or cooking for themselves\u201d. Their menu choices \u201ccover cultural as well as dietary needs and include special requirements like soft foods or diabetic meals.\u201d<\/p>\n There are two main commercial organizations in this sector: \u201cApetito\u201d, which has \u201cservice centres all over the country\u201d and charges \u00a36.25 a day for a hot meal and dessert and \u201cICare\u201d, which charges between \u00a35.30 and \u00a34.10, depending on the area.<\/p>\n ICare, however, have apparently clashed occasionally with their drivers, who use their own cars to deliver meals. In one instance (publicized by the Daily Mirror), they attempted to \u201cslash wages as well as holiday and sick payments\u201d \u2013 prompting one of their employees to remark that the \u201cBosses don\u2019t care about the service, it\u2019s about making money\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIf I\u2019d known how old I was going to be, I\u2019d have taken better care of myself\u201d. So the Hungarian \u201cfilm mogul\u201d, Adolph Zukor, once famously remarked. In reality, as the founder of Paramount Pictures, he had the economic means to ensure that he was well looked after in his later years and indeed survived […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthcare","category-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":814,"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions\/814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colindgordon.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}