All posts in the topic Assistance with shopping for elderly people in Headington (Short link)
Summary
- There are 8 posts — by 6 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Ruth Wilkinson at Nov 30 01:02 UTC
Can anyone help me? Many elderly folk live in the area adjacent to Headley
Way, and the re-routing of the no.10 bus service by Stagecoach has meant that
they can now only get to the shops or the doctor's in Headington by taxi or by
walking quite a distance. I shall ask the supermarkets in Headington if they
can deliver shopping by telephone order or such-like but many shops will only
deliver in response to online ordering over the internet. David and I are
trying hard to lobby the bus companies to re-introduce a service along Headley
Way, or incorporate Headley Way into an existing or new bus service, but this
type of problem usually takes a long time to resolve. While we're on the case,
can anyone let me have details of groups or organisations I can contact to help
these older folk get their shopping from Somerfield's? I could try the student
volunteers from Brookes and from the University, but they won't be around
during vacation. The dial-a ride Octabus service will only take those who are
infirm. The folk we want to help are old, but they are not ill, and they try
very hard to be independent, but this extra distance to walk is just too much
for them. Ideas, anyone?
Iceland, Somerfield, and the Co-op in Headington all have free home delivery
services. You have to spend over a certain amount (around £20), but in the
current economic climate that is not really so much.
Obviously, however, some elderly people cannot get to Headington to walk around
the shops with a trolley selecting the items to be delivered, and I think this
is the only option at present. But anyone could do it for them: they would not
need to be a car owner, or over 18 (or indeed under 80), so schools and scout
groups would be a possibility, and of course local churches. Volunteers could
go round with a trolley collecting the shopping required, pay for it and leave
it to be delivered, and then go around again and do their own shopping, so it
would not be a great burden.
I would be willing to do a shopping session for an elderly person as a one-off
trial, if that would help. But I could only do weekends, as I imagine that
late afternoon is too late. (I noticed yesterday that Iceland has just
introduced a Sunday delivery service, and I will look into the services offered
by the other shops and come back on the forum with better details later. I am
not even sure about the rules governing the times by which such shopping must
be done.)
The big problems would be the organization of such a system, the reimbursement
of receipts, and how to deal with mistakes -- the elderly can be quite
fussy....
There is a difficulty with shopping for the elderly over the internet, and I
wonder if also applies to general home deliveries? Because of "health &
safety", the Sainbury's delivery people are not allowed to unpack the boxes,
which means that the weak have to race to unpack them and return them to the
strong man standing at the door, which of course they cannot do quickly. This
is a great shame, as the only time I tried to organize internet shopping from
Sainsbury's for my elderly mother in this way it caused great distress: I had
no idea the delivery man would refuse to lift the many carrier bags out of the
boxes for her. So this is something worth checking if you do go down the
delivery route.
Does anyone know if the 'Fish' Good Neighbour Scheme is still in existence in
Headington? This was just the sort of thing their vounteers got involved in.
Last year I made some enquiries, not terribly systematically, in my capacity as Chair of Churches Together in Headington, to see whether it was felt that there were significant numbers of residents in Headington needing (and wishing to receive) help of various sorts who are not catered for by the many agencies and networks functioning in the area; and, if so, whether it might be feasible to set up a network of volunteers to help them. The numbers would have to be substantial to justify the immense labour in researching, setting up, and operating any effective new network in the area, not to mention the vetting of volunteers (and clients!), insurance, and the rest. (The Fish scheme actually began in St Andrew's parish and spread through the area, and indeed nationally, but it no longer operates in Headington except for a modest scheme still in existence at St Andrew's: I gather it declined because of lack of volunteers at home during the day, and perceived problems with having one's house designated a 'Fish' centre for one's neighbourhood.) Nobody I spoke to last year thought that there was a really substantial gap in current provision. But of course there will always be a number of people who could benefit from help, such as shopping. My enquiries suggested that it is probably best if this is arranged informally, through one of the existing networks. Certainly where there is a perceived need it would be worth contacting the local church or churches to see if there is a neighbour who might be able and willing to help. I would be very happy to pursue possible church contacts for any individual case, if it should be thought useful (though for most of the Headley Way area that would involve Churches Together in Marston). Ian Alexander Lindsey Doyle <lindsey.doyle23@yahoo.com> wrote: Does anyone know if the 'Fish' Good Neighbour Scheme is still in existence in Headington? This was just the sort of thing their vounteers got involved in. Lindsey Doyle Headington, Oxford Info about Lindsey Doyle: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/6kCRzvPIgro8yCoyN6Dukh This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/3q7XQdmdzvldbnRrbtRNBd
So, why volunteering? Why not a Time Bank?
One of my current projects is investigating the idea of a
complementary currency for Oxfordshire - like a local traders' loyalty
card scheme for the most part - but it could be used to monetize
"volunteer" time in the form of a Time Bank.
The stores that benefit from a "double shop" could potentially be
cajoled into offering discounts or freebies to the people doing the
"double shop" for example (since they are potentially gaining business
they would not get if the person needing assistance were left to their
own devices).
Co-op could maybe be persuaded to assist.
Ruth Wilkinson said that there was an issue of pensioners needing transport to
the shops, well could I suggest that one possibility worth looking at would be
for her to go and have a talk to the people at Social Services Essential
Transport depot on Barton Road, or that she gives them a ring by phone, I am
just suprised that this was not her first port of call, or that one of her
colleagues at the Council didn't suggest this.
I have just done my research on the home delivery service offered by local
Headington supermarkets, and for elderly people, Somerfield seems best.
Iceland and the Co-op both insist on a minimum spend of £25 for everybody,
regardless of age, to qualify for free home delivery.
Somerfield also requires a minimum spend of £25 for people under 60, but for
people over 60 this is reduced to £15. They are also the only one of the three
shops that has a leaflet giving proper details about the service.
Thanks for your assistance everyone. I was speaking to a resident in Old
Headington about this issue yesterday evening at the Winter meeting of the
Friends. She pointed out that it's important for older people to have
interaction with others, and to retain their independence to get to the shops
and choose for themselves what they would like to buy for their meals rather
than just order a weekly shop in from the supermarket. The Fish scheme sounds
ideal from that point of view. I'll explore the options and have another chat
with the residents concerned