Parcels to continue for those shielding

SWANSEA Council will continue to deliver emergency food parcels to residents who have been told to shield until restrictions are lifted next month.

It is also working with the voluntary sector to ensure that the wide range of other support such as the collection of medication and having a friendly voice to talk to on the phone for vulnerable and isolated people continues beyond next month for those who need it.

The Welsh Government announced this week that it will be pausing shielding from August 16.

Around 9,000 Swansea people were instructed to shield because their medical condition put them at higher risk of Covid-19.

The council has supported them and other vulnerable residents throughout in a number of ways with many different departments working together. Since early June Swansea Council has taken on the responsibility of delivering food parcels to shielded individuals in the city – supporting around 500 vulnerable people every week.

People shielding are also among those who have been assisted by the council’s local area coordinators (LACS), volunteer street champions and volunteers from the Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) with accessing prescriptions and medication with more than 2,000 collections made.

Between them the LACS, SCVS and staff manning the council’s dedicated helpline have dealt with in excess of 23,000 inquiries while those who are alone and vulnerable have received more than 7,500 telephone calls as part of the neighbour to neighbour support.

Councillor Alyson Pugh, the council’s cabinet member for better communities, said: “The delivery of emergency food parcels will continue until shielding is paused and then we will help those who have been using the service to access other alternatives should they need to, such as supermarket home deliveries or if necessary the network of foodbanks in Swansea that will continue to operate.”