‘Harebrained’ alternative to hot, nutritious meal (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

‘Harebrained’ alternative to hot, nutritious meal

10:44am Wednesday 12th November 2008 in

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Sir – I am an established 81-year-old resident in Calvert Court, one of Richmond Housing Partnership’s larger sheltered housing schemes.

We now find that the long favoured meals on wheels daily delivery scheme, which ensures a “hot and nutritious meal delivered to each needy, elderly, disabled or immobile person” is to be discontinued early in the new year.

With the council intent to replace this well-tested and successful scheme with some illconceived harebrained impracticable alternative to provide frozen meals to be stored by each and then cooked/microwaved individually each day.

Furthermore providing on loan microwave ovens and freezers where they are not already available.

Such a scheme would, of course, need many more helpers to prepare and cook each individual meal, including managing defrosting and supervision of the freezer contents, all to be achieved in a reasonable say two-hour lunchtime slot. Risks to the elderly and infirm are immense.

Fire, scalding, electrocution etc. Energy costs to run the freezers and cookers are considerable, not forgetting the excessive carbon footprint.

Costs of the new scheme must be considerably greater than the current meals on wheels scheme, with much of the cost burdened on to the elderly recipients, most of whom are already struggling financially.

MR A JOHN SMITH
Richmond