Frozen meals service for pensioners 21/1014
A microwave food service will replace the home-
The cost-
Pensioners will require to have a freezer and microwave to store and heat the food.
The present system of getting each home carer to cook a separate cooked hot meal, using fresh ingredients bought from island stores, for around 360 pensioners is costly and time consuming according to the council.
There was a huge outcry in when a similar idea was trialled in 2007. Pensioners complained about the lack of choice and unsuitability of the menus.
The council insists that the taste and quality of food is much better now and are nutritionally balanced.
Instead of taking 30 minutes to prepare food, a carer could pop a frozen meal in the microwave and spend the saved time for care tasks.
Pensioners can choose whether to have their main meal at lunchtime or tea time. Sample menus and information sheets are to be issued.
One option will be for service users to choose from a menu prepared by local company Maclean’s Bakery.
If service users have been assessed as requiring assistance with breakfast, this will also continue.
Cllr Uisdean Robertson, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said, “The
introduction of this meal service will re-
“The consultation proposals for changing how care time is provided will consolidate the time benefits that community meals will generate in releasing time for other priorities.
“We are committed to providing the best possible care for our older folk, including providing tasty, nutritious meals”