Fears meals on wheels could be axed amid Caerphilly Council cuts
ITV Wales journalist Mike Griffiths reports
There are calls for a Welsh council not to axe its meals-on-wheels service in an attempt to save money.
Caerphilly Council announced proposals last month to cut the Meals Direct service by November this year and replace it with an external provider.
It comes as the council has also proposed cutting funding for popular tourist attractions and cultural venues in the borough – such as Llancaiach Fawr Manor and the Blackwood Miners’ Institute – in order to balance its books.
The council has said it must deliver savings in the region of £45million over the next two years to survive.
The meals-on-wheels service currently costs £444,000 to run.
The service delivers around 125,000 meals a year to around 320 people in the borough supported by a workforce of more than 30 caterers, drivers and helpers.
People get meals delivered to their homes for a payment of between £5 and £6 a day.
Recipients include people who can’t walk unaided or are unable to put a meal in the microwave.
The council say the service is designed to "help people maintain their independence and provide a regular check-in to ensure that all is well in the household".
Margaret Rees, 87, who lives in Penybryn, says she has no family left and describes her once-a-day contact with a staff member from the meals on wheels service as her "lifeline".
Retired nurse Margaret, who began her career in the 1950s at a tuberculosis hospital in Gelligaer, has had the meals delivered since she left hospital last year and pays £5 a day for a hot lunch and a small dessert as well as a prepared sandwich in the evening. Subsidised customers like Margaret are assessed as in great need by social services. Non-subsidised users pay around £6 a day.
Margaret said: "I am housebound and I’m not supposed to go out to mix. I’m 87, I’m not young anymore, and I can’t even walk with a stick. I would be completely lost without it [the meals].
"When I first came out from the hospital I was burning everything because I was forgetting. It became dangerous. There is no way I can stand up for long enough safely enough to prepare anything for myself.
"I’ve worked all of my life and paid all my taxes and I do feel it’s now time to be looked after a little bit, is it not? I worked six days out of seven in the hospitals and I worked 48 hours a week. I enjoyed it, mind, I liked the work - but it was nothing like it is today.
"I see them with all their fancy clothes in the government on the television. It’s nice to see them dressed tidy, but I can’t afford what they can.”
Norman Evans, 85, from Penpedairheol, has also been having the meals delivered to his home from Monday to Thursday since he left hospital three years ago. His wife is his sole carer so social services determined they would benefit from the service to give her respite.
Norman said: “I would really miss the dinners. It’s been a great help to us to have that there. They were so good to me in the hospital in getting me on to these dinners and it’d be a travesty to lose them. If I was living on my own without my wife it’d be even more crucial. I can’t imagine what it’d be like being alone and facing losing that.”
Lianne Dallimore, Unison's Caerphilly County branch secretary, said: "Hundreds of elderly people, including some who are blind and bed-bound, will be devastated if the local authority ends its Meals Direct service.
"This is an essential way to ensure the most vulnerable people in the community are nourished and have some friendly contact.
"Ripping away this vital lifeline in the name of cost savings is appalling and completely unacceptable.
"The closure would also mean job losses for the workers who bring fresh meals to the doors of older people who struggle to prepare food for themselves.
"Unison will fight for everyone who relies on this important service and for all the staff who work to deliver it."
Council leader Sean Morgan said: "We can’t continue to run our services in the way we always have. We need to explore all options and consider ways of doing things differently.
"I want to be honest with the community because it’s clear that the scale of savings means we need to make some very difficult decisions over the coming months.
"We have a duty to protect the public purse so we will be looking at a range of savings options, particularly services that are subject to high subsidy, are non-statutory or can be delivered in a different way.
"I want to ensure that residents have a voice in this process, so there will be opportunities to get involved and have your say as we consider these options. It is vitally important you engage in this process to help shape the way we deliver our services in future."
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...