Shoppers hoard food worth £1bn as high street starts to shut down
Stores unable to maintain time for vulnerable and NHS workers to do their shopping in isolation
BRITAIN has stockpiled £1billion worth of food in just three weeks, it was revealed yesterday, as a health chief told shoppers hoarding supplies they “should be ashamed” that NHS workers are being left without after long shifts.
Medics are being met with empty supermarket shelves despite manufacturers increasing production by 50 per cent, the daily Downing Street press conference was told.
It came as retailers continued their shutdown yesterday, with John Lewis closing all its stores. Instead more than 2,000 of its workforce will be shifted to work in Waitrose supermarkets.
Fears that the elderly and vulnerable are missing out on basic supplies prompted Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, to say people were being “selfish” by failing to limit themselves.
The warning comes after a critical care nurse was left in tears when she was unable to find anything to eat at the end of a 48-hour shift. “Frankly, we should all be ashamed that that has to happen – it is unacceptable,” Mr Powis told the press conference.
George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, failed to rule out state rationing, but said: “The reality is that most of the supermarkets are already, of their own accord, putting limits on certain items, so I don’t think it is necessary or appropriate for the Government to dictate this.”
Mr Eustice hinted that the Government could call on the military to deliver food to people who are self-isolating. He said: “We are obviously giving increasing thought within government over how we will protect those who may be self-isolating because they are vulnerable and I know more will be said about this in due course.”
SUPERMARKETS are struggling to maintain a dedicated “silver hour” for the vulnerable as NHS workers and the elderly risk infecting each other and shelves are left bare by delivery blockages and panic buying.
Pensioners have been confronted by empty shelves even during the shopping times set aside for them by the big supermarket chains, because staff have not been able to replenish shelves quickly enough.
In other cases, restrictions on delivery times in residential areas have hampered the ability of local branches to restock in time for those vulnerable customers invited to shop before the general public are admitted.
Meanwhile a leading heart doctor warned NHS workers and the elderly could be cross-infecting each other with coronavirus. Lisa Anderson, who works at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, told how she fears the decision by a number of supermarkets to mix special shopping hours for the elderly and NHS workers could result in cross contamination between the two groups.
“This is not just about the risk to ourselves and our families. We are travelling home on the Tube, on buses.
“Sainsbury’s this morning has announced that they are opening up the early hours to the frail, elderly and NHS workers. We are cross-infecting everybody at the moment,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
It comes after supermarket chains announced they were to recruit thousands more staff, including drivers, warehouse staff and pickers, to help move food from depots into stores more quickly following weeks of bulk buying and empty shelves. Last week alone grocers such as Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl and Morrisons hired around 44,000 staff between them.
The major supermarket chains have introduced limits on the number of purchases, with Tesco, Aldi, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s restricting items to three per customer on every product line – though some people have simply gone back in later to buy more. Shoppers have also been urged not to buy more than they need in an attempt to ensure others aren’t left empty-handed.
But there have been chaotic scenes during what were intended to be designated times for the vulnerable, with younger shoppers continuing to bulk buy as elderly people struggle around them. In one Sainsbury’s branch in Croydon, south London, there were reports that dozens of young and middleaged shoppers entered the store during the period designated for the vulnerable, with too few staff and security guards able to manage the rush.
In other cases pensioners have found shelves already stripped when they arrived at the time set aside for them.
In Edinburgh Elizabeth Hall, 74, and her husband Christopher, 79, found the shelves at their Sainsbury’s empty at 7am because of council restrictions on deliveries before 8am.
Mrs Hall, a retired teacher, told The Sunday Telegraph: “There was nothing there when we arrived at the so-called ‘silver hour’. By the time goods started to arrive, there was access for all, which defeats the object of the exercise to protect geriatrics like us, expectant mothers and people in wheelchairs.
“When the delivery came the staff were very helpful finding things for us, but the restrictions on delivery times need to be relaxed.”
A number of councils, such as Wychavon district, in Worcestershire, have already lifted delivery restrictions and others have been urged to follow suit. Social media users have reported that in several cases much of a local supermarket’s stock has been taken even before the start of the designated hour for vulnerable shoppers.