meals on wheels

[jane1]

my 77 year old mum has meals on wheels 5 days a week, because i work full time, she eats any thing and every thing, she really isnt fussy at all, well ive been on a weeks holiday, and ive seen the meals that have been delivered to her, they are so nasty, and smell ready off and horrible, how can u service up chips that are black and freezing cold??????, ive tried phoning the southwark office all working week but it just keeps going to answer phone and they are not replying to me, is any one else out there getting meals on wheels and having the same sort of problems as us and does any one know of any other service out there that would deliver a hot meal to my mums front door 5 days a week around about lunch time, and on top of every thing else she is paying a arm and a leg each week for meals not even our pet dog wont eat, some one please help us.................

[Louisa]

Hi jane1 I'm sorry to hear about your experience since you went away on holiday. Are you seeking a private alternative to meals on wheels offered by southwark? I know of a few private firms one of which is Wiltshire Farm Foods. Might be worth visiting their website? www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com and they'll send out a free menu/brochure for you to look at prices. It's awful when the older generation are forced to suffer and have no alternative. You'd hope your mum would be in safe reliable hands whilst you are away and to come home to that is bang out of line.

Louisa.

[bob]

Defo for Wiltshire food.

Bob S

[dbboy]

Apetito deliver the meals on wheels in Southwark, see attached link http://www.mealsonwheels.info/getting-started

My mum had them about 2 1/2hrs ago for about a montha nd that was enough for her.Personally I wouldn't feed them to a dog, ditto hospital food as well, that I have had the mis-fortune to see served up

[JDR]

The one thing not said is that Wiltshire food will deliver them frozen, she would then need to heat them up.... There aren't a lot of options these days as Social Services have been dramatically cut these things seem to get worse

[ratty]

Has your mum got a personal budget for this?

[jane1]

thanks everyone,

ive had a look at the wiltshire foods website but yes they are frozen and i need some thing hot delivered daily while im at work, mum had a stroke a couple of years a go and has limited useage in the left side of her body, and there is no way she could cook herself a cook meal and carry it to the table,

please dont get me wrong the delivery lady that bring mums meals are lovely and they stop and chat to her, my problem is the quality of the food, this week she has had food that was so over cooked we had to guess what it was, none of the food looks fresh, all the veg is frozen and the mash potato is the dried stuff from a packet, there has got to be another company out there, that does better quality food............

[bob]

Go to southwark council we got a carer in twice a day one task was to put the meal in the microwave and wash up the next call some cleaning this was 7 days a week and were very good

Bob S

[dbboy]

Jane1 - found this, hope its useful as an alternative.

http://www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/how-we-help/services-we-provide/practical-support-at-home/meals-on-wheels?gclid=CL7_54yPwbcCFa7JtAodpDQAuQ

[intexasatthe moment]

Jane1 - Wiltshire farm foods also supply Apetito ,I think their frozen range is slightly superior .

My mum gets the MOW version ,I wouldn't say they are as bad as you describe .

You do need to be careful what you select ,you're right chips don't respond to being kept warm in the van and dont arrive in good condition .

If meals are arriving dried up it's probably because the edge of the film has been lifted up ( I sometimes suspect this is because the delivery lady has started peeling the film off ready to give to someone on the round but found them not in ,but thats just a guess ) and you need to complain about this .

Apetito's number is 0207 639 8722 .

My mother was asessed by Southwark and deemed in need of MOW so she pays a subsidised rate ,it's half what you pay if not subsidised .

The number is 020 7525 3324 http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200407/my_support_choices/2370/contact_southwark_adult_social_care

They do an initial telephone screening with the elderly person ,they couldn't care less if that person has trouble hearing or holding the phone ,or whether the person answers questions like " Do you have trouble getting shopping " with a literal " No " . Though of course if the next question were to be " So how do you grt your shopping ? " the answer would be " My daughter gets it "

They have a whole list of unexplained questions like " Do you keep money in the house ? " All conducted in a robotic voice obviously reading from a script . No human interaction like you can get in hospitals where they preface exercises like this with a sympathetic " I'm afraid there a lot of questions and some of them might seem odd " ,but then thats face to face .

Good luck ,I'd persevere with Apetito ,just be careful not order meals with chips or omlettes .

I've never known the food to be cold .

Bland ,but not cold .

[intexasatthe moment]

Jane 1 - these are good http://www.essentialaids.com/swedish-trolley.html. and generally supplied free on assessment .

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200389/staying_independent_at_home/2391/equipment_to_help_you/1

[jane1]

many thanks every one for your messages, i am going to really look in to this and do some thing about it,

[fl0wer]

People are right to make a fuss.

Some pics of the offending meals would provide evidence if you need it for publicity. There was that brilliant schoolgirl who reported her school dinners via YouTube last year....

[Pugwash]

In order to have a carer to provide or heat up meal at lunch time, your mother would need to be assessed and only those who meet the substancial criteria will get a carer. Gateway to obtaining services services is the need to have help with personal care.

From what you have indicated is that Mum would have difficulty in cattying meal to table - she may benefit an occupational therapist assessment and the provision of a tolley or other aids. When she had a stroke, did the OT in the Stroke Rehab Team or ward do an assessment for aids and adaptations. You could also contact the Stroke Association

for ideas.

Your mum should be getting attendance allowance if she is pension age or DLA care componant if under pension age.

If awarded either of the above - the money is given to allow people to purchase/pay for additional care. Has she a neighbour or a friend living by who would pop in for 20/ 30 mins each day to heat up the food? Your mum could pay a small fee to them. Rough costs of carers are around ?13 per hour from an agency but if she 'employed' someone locally she could pay them say ?20 - ?30 pw. Recently several cafes have been plating up hot food and taking them to their disabled customers. A cousin worked in Ozzie's cafe in Rye Lane some years ago before his death and one of his duties was to take a hot plated meal to a resident in Heaton Road who could not get out. With regards tot he Southwark MOW I should submit a written complaint re quality. If the Commissioning Section receives many similair complaints they then have to investigate further and quality and quantity control will be part of the contract they have entered into with Appetito. Better still if you can photo the meals as well to show how aweful they look. The problem is where there is a genuine complaint - people are afraid to write in so nothing gets done. (There will always be people who complain about everything).