Gairdín Mhuire steps up to the plate with meals-on-wheels service
AS the continuing coronavirus restrictions keep elderly and vulnerable people at home, Gairdin Mhuire Day Care Centre in Dingle has stepped in to provide a vital meals on wheels delivery service in West Kerry.
Prior to the announcement of the lockdown Gairdín Mhuire on Green Street was open from 9am – 4pm, five days a week providing services for the elderly ranging from meals and nursing care to hairdressing, arts and crafts and yoga. Those services stopped on March 13 to comply with the requirements of social distancing but the centre quickly responded to the need to provide meals for the elderly. Within a week Gairdín Mhuire started a meals-on-wheels service and now provides freshly cooked hot meals to homes in Dingle and around West Kerry.
At the moment they deliver to as many as 50 homes but the number is growing week by week and Gairdín Mhuire aims to continue to expand the service to meet the needs of elderly people in the community. The service is flexible, so meals can be delivered from one day per week to six days per week, depending on the needs of individual clients.
“Due to Covid-19 restrictions Gairdin Mhuire Day Care Centre in Dingle has, with great assistance and support from the HSE Community Department in Tralee, been able to adapt the service to provide meals on wheels for their clients and those in need of meals in the West Kerry area,” a spokesperson for Gairdín Mhuire said.
The spokesperson also thanked everybody who has offered services on a voluntary basis - in particular Dingle Distillery for their kind donation of liberal amounts of hand sanitizer and Dingle Oceanworld for treating all the staff and clients to Easter eggs.
Meanwhile, Gairdin Mhuire continues to provide nursing care to help support Public Health Nurses and GPs in the district.
The contact number is: 066-9151300 or email gairdinmhuire@eircom.net