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Surrey
Heath Borough Council Surrey Police Woking Area
Primary Care Trust Surrey County
Council |
NEWS
RELEASE |
Meals
on Wheels Is A Success
National Meals on Wheels week is being held from 7th to 11th November
2005. Meals on Wheels is a service that Surrey Heath Borough Council is
proud to celebrate.
The Council’s Meals on Wheels service operates 7 days a week, 365
days a year (including Christmas Day) covering all areas of the Borough.
Whilst the main role of the service is to deliver a meal, a secondary but no less important aspect is the fact that staff monitor customer wellbeing and any concerns are immediately dealt with. Staff are well aware of the needs of this customer group and they receive appropriate training for the job including first aid, food hygiene awareness, manual handling and so on.
Unlike other providers, Surrey Heath Borough Council accepts self referral, so customers can literally start on the day they telephone requesting the service. (Other Meals on Wheels providers rely on Social Services to make the recommendation which often delays start dates)
The Council takes referrals from customers themselves, concerned relatives, neighbours, Social Services, Hospital Care Managers, GP’s and District Nurses.
Meals are cooked in vehicles called ‘Chefmobils’ manufactured specifically for this purpose. The Chefmobils cook the meals and keep them hot, which ensures that every client receives a well presented, hot meal ready to eat.
In April 2005 the Council’s Executive agreed to move the current weekend Meals on Meals service from a local private company to ‘in-house’ within Community Services.
Community Services have dramatically improved the weekend service for residents in the Borough. They now have a mobile phone number to contact if customers do not want their meal or are away at the weekend. Improvements to routes have also been made, resulting in quicker delivery schedules and fewer delays for customers living at the end of routes.
The staff at Community Services are highly committed to the weekend service; they have 3 drivers who work the weekend shift, with back up drivers trained to cover holidays and sickness.
In response to Customer feedback, it is hoped that at the beginning of the New Year the Council will introduce a larger improved menu and meal size to run in parallel with the present service. Customers will be given the choice of the size of meal they require.
Cllr. Vivienne Chapman, Portfolio Holder for Customer Care said, “Surrey Heath has been providing the Meals on Wheel service for over 10 years and delivers approximately 1,000 meals every week, to people who are not able to cook for themselves. This service is just one of the ways the Council can help people remain independent and stay in their own home.”
For further information about
the Meals on Wheels Service please contact Steve Eker, Home Support Manager
on 01276 707670 or email steve.eker@surreyheath.gov.uk. Alternatively
pleas visit the Surrey Heath website www.surreyheath.gov.uk – Look
under ‘Community’ and then ‘Community Services’.
 |
The
Meals on Wheels Team |
For further information or photographs contact:
Amanda Gow, Press & Communications Officer 01276 707312
Jenni Wheller, Communications Assistant 01276 707415
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