Meigle emergency meeting
A rural Perthshire community is working together to help its most vulnerable residents when they self-isolate.
Meigle and Ardler Community Council held an emergency meeting last Thursday to devise an action plan and councillors are praising the scheme.
Vice chair Kevin Stirling said: “Meigle and Ardler Community Council (MACC) is taking the spread of COVID-19 in Scotland very seriously. Members of MACC met on March 12 to map out the components of a strategy regarding how we can support those living in the local area and how we might work with the NHS and the emergency services to achieve this goal.”
He explained they are following a 10-step approach proposed by Perth and Kinross Community Watch.
Mr Stirling said: “We are looking to work with local groups, church groups, the WI and local businesses to look at how we support the elderly, vulnerable and those who have chosen to or need to self-isolate.”
With frontline services looking set to be stretched over the coming weeks, the community council wanted to do what it could to assist. It is now looking to set up a buddy system dividing up the local area so someone is perhaps responsible for two streets.
Peter Menzies, the community council’s resilience coordinator, said: “Elderly people may well be stuck in their houses for a long period of time. They may need longer support.”
The community council is going to set up two dedicated phone numbers that local residents can call 24/7 for help or even just a chat if they are feeling lonely.
Mr Menzies explained how local residents would voluntarily man the phones on a rota basis. He said: “We can pick up medications, food, mail their post for them or even walk their dogs.
“It’s a support network for people who need our help.”
He said whether it be single parents or elderly residents they want to make sure everyone is looking out for one another.
Plans are still being finalised but fliers will be posted out with the phone numbers over the coming days and information posted up on their Facebook page.