Vulnerable people finally get access to priority deliveries
VULNERABLE people in Wales will be able to access priority shopping delivery, weeks after the same process was in place for England.
For weeks now vulnerable people around Wales have had to risk their lives because the Welsh Government did not offer priority supermarket deliveries for those most at risk of Covid-19.
In England, the UK Government has created an online register so people can register to say they need extra help during the coronavirus outbreak.
Those on the register, which is open to elderly people and those with underlying health conditions who were advised to stay in their homes, are able to get priority delivery slots from supermarkets.
Instead, the Welsh Government said it was providing a weekly free food box. However, people have told The South Wales Echo that it is not suitable for their needs and they would like to be able to buy their own food.
One of these is Alex Collins from Langstone, Newport. He has cystic fibrosis - a genetically life threatening lung condition.
He said: “I am now at a total and utter dead end attempting to register with supermarkets as vulnerable, for priority delivery slots that they are offering.
“This is because I cannot go on the .gov website and register online due to living in Wales.
“I have spoken to Tesco and have been told there is nothing they can do if I am unable to register online as this is the system they are relying on to check my claim is legitimate. The call centre agent was very apologetic but he said there was nothing he could do.”
He says that other people with CF in England have had a very different experience.
He said: “I am part of a CF Whatsapp group (CF patients are never allowed to meet in person due to risk of infection but this was informally set up so we can offer advice and support to one another).
“Everyone in England I am speaking to in this group is already receiving food parcels. They have all been able to ring their supermarkets and register for priority delivery as well. They are now receiving food deliveries from the major supermarkets around the country.
“The second I attempt to register and select I’m not living in England I get redirected to the Welsh Assembly website where all I can do is read literature, telling me to ask neighbours for help. This is not acceptable. There is only so much you can ask neighbours to do. This week, my neighbours have contracted Covid-19 so this is not an option.”
Alex is able to receive a Welsh Government food parcel but he says they do not meet his food needs.
He added: “I understand there is the ability to request a generic food box. However, it does not tell me how or where I can do this and is highly unlikely to be sufficient for someone with CF, as we are also pancreatic insufficient.
“This means I absorb far less of the food I consume than a normal adult and have very specific high fat and high sugar dietary requirements because of this to maintain a healthy weight.
“This inability to register with the Welsh Government as vulnerable is not acceptable as it means that businesses that are supporting people like myself cannot identify who we are.
“I am now in a position where I have been forced to make a potentially life threatening choice, leaving the house for a food collection.
“I work full time contributing to the economy and the skill set of future generations through my job, I pay my taxes the same as anyone else across the border in England so why should I accept this substandard, second class treatment from Vaughan Gething and Mark Drakeford?” Elderly people were also struggling, such as Richard Mathias from Merthyr Tydfil. He and his wife are both in their 80s and received a letter telling them that they needed to self isolate. Mr Mathias was very frustrated to find he wasn’t able to get a space for his groceries to be delivered. Unlike in England, where he would be given a preferential spot, the Welsh Government has not provided the facility.
“I go to Waitrose because my wife likes the spaghetti bolognese,” said Richard.
“Since self isolating I have had an enormous problem.
“We are both in our 80s and I received a letter saying I am particularly at risk.
“If you go to the supermarket’s website they will ask you whether you are on the list of people who are at risk. It then asks if you live in England.
“If you click Wales it takes you to advice about self isolating.”
Mr Mathias tried to get round it. “I thought I would put in that I am English!” he laughed.
“Then after I had gone through all the rigmarole of registering it asked for my postcode. As soon as I put in CF48 they realised I was in Wales. I got sent back to the advice again.”
Mr Mathias says he does not want a weekly food parcel and can afford to buy his own food.
He said: “It seems strange to me that vulnerable people in Wales are not able to access it.
“We are entitled to a free food parcel but we don’t need it, we want to do our normal shopping.
“The lists are out there because we had a call from the council offering us a free food parcel.
“If you want to buy your own food you have to take the risk to do a shop unless you have someone who can drop it on your doorstep.
“I am not very digitally competent at my age and those websites are absolutely full.
“All I want is someone to open the list of vulnerable people up to the supermarkets as they do in England.
“Someone who is in Hereford on just the other side of the border would be able to access this.”
In a press conference, Minister for housing and local government Julie James said that supermarkets would now be given access to the data.
When contacted, Tesco confirmed they had received the list from the Welsh Government and will be writing to customers on the list.
This is not first time Welsh Government have been slower off the mark than England with regard to its coronavirus response.
There were several issues with a volunteering scheme set up in Wales that took significantly longer than its English counterparts, leading to widespread confusion.
The second I attempt to register and select I’m not living in England I get redirected to the Welsh Assembly website where all I can do is read literature, telling me to ask neighbours for help. This is not acceptable Alex Collins