Richmond Council freezes charges elderly and vulnerable (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)
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Richmond Council freezes charges elderly and vulnerable
10:00am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News By Rachel Bishop
Meals on wheels, day centre lunches and Careline costs will be frozen for the forthcoming year.
At Richmond Council’s budget meeting, members agreed the charges for the borough’s home meal delivery service, food provision at the local council day centres for older people and the fee for the council’s Telecare service, should be frozen for 2013-14.
Councillor Nicola Urquhart, cabinet member for adult services, health and housing, said: “Meals on Wheels is a life line to many people in the borough, ensuring that residents who are unable to cook for themselves can have a hot meal. This is equally as important at our day centres.
“Our Telecare service has also really grown and developed in the past few years, providing hundreds of residents with the security they need to be able to live independently in their own home.
“As these two services are so important, I am pleased that the council agreed not to increase the costs for the next 12 months.”
For more information, call 0845 6007413 or visit richmond.gov.uk/meals_on_wheels.
Comments(2)
Twickenham Bob
says...
9:38pm Wed 6 Mar 13
6.2%
Across the board apart from 'priority areas'. Still a stonking increase
See point 3.5 from these recent council minutes
http://cabnet.richmo
nd.gov.uk/documents/
s39082/Member%20Deci
sion%20Report%20-%20
Allotment%20Concessi
on%20v2.pdf
ken elmes says...
2:34pm Wed 6 Mar 13
They have cut my care allowances by 5 hours a week (£45) and started to send in agency careers at set inconvenient times for 7 hours a week costing the probably £15/20 an hour.
Realizing after a few days this was a waist of council taxpayer’s money, I told the agency career to stop calling as they were just watching my own career.
My own experience is as follows –
When in 2007 I opted for direct payment, at the councils suggestion, I was informed that this was to be spent to buy the care and assistance I needed when and how required. This worked out very well and satisfactory up until 2012.
The council decided, in 2012, to take a component of my disability living allowance as part of their care plan. This had the effect of reducing my available cash for care/PA by 5 hours a week. I have been trying to get my hours increased by this amount for many weeks. This also to account for my deteariating physical condition with encroaching age, extra help, all agree, I now need.
I have had the same career/PA now for over 3 years; we have worked together very well on flexi time according to what I want and need to do throughout the day. Always on telephone call, if required, he is very helpful and caring and now puts in many more hours than he is paid for.
Today, as it is sunny, after he has showered me he is driving out to the park or riverside for a walk with the wheelchair. On Wednesday afternoon taking me to a talk on ‘Historical Teddington’ and on Friday to a meeting at Ruils – ‘Your Say’.
Twice a month he takes me to an evening committee meeting of an organisation I was a founder member many years ago. As I have said many times our care and life style is not regimented by set times, and is very flexible, I do not need extra careers but the hours reinstated for my long standing excising career, taken from my DLA.
Now the council, instead of allowing the 5 hours to be reinstated, started to send in agency care at set times throughout the day to do work my career/PA is all ready doing, at times we might be out. Today, Wednesday and Thursday we will be. This is not acceptable as it upsets our programme.
It is ridiculous that I ask for 5 hours to be reinstated at £9.00p per hour, £45 a week as my ‘DLA‘ used to be, and instead they send in agency care for over 7 hours a week, costing goodness know what at agency prices.
(first used 3 weeks ago KE).