|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
Support Global Action on Aging!
Thanks! |
 |
Meals
Service Waiting List Hamilton Spectator 13 May,
2003
A GROWING demand for meals on wheels has led to a waiting list for the
service in Southern Grampians Shire. The demand for meals in
Southern Grampians Shire has increased by almost 25 per cent in less than
five years, echoing the experience of councils across Victoria. The need is being fuelled by
the increasing number of elderly people who remain in their homes and the
general ageing of the population. Director of comunity and
leisure services, Bronwyn Herbert, said the council was at the point of
prioritising need, and had been forced to create a small waiting list. However she said the waiting
list for meals on wheels was not as large as that for other Health and
Community Care (HACC) services. Ms Herbert was responding to a
number of questions posed by The Spectator regarding meals on wheels after
the Horsham Rural City reported reaching a crisis point in its provision,
with the demand for meals almost doubling in four years. Demand increases In Southern Grampians Shire,
the demand increased from 31,000 meals in 1998 to 38,500 today, with an
average of 480 meals being delivered each week in Hamilton alone. Ms Herbert said the demand for
meals had increased for a number of reasons, including the fact that it
was a quality service, the growth in the aged population as a whole, and
the total increase in numbers of people choosing to stay in their own
homes. She said the council was
managing the service well and was able to meet the majority of needs. But she said the strategic plan
developed for the Aged and Disability Services had identified a need to
continue to plan and further develop the meals on wheels service to meet
the increasing needs into the future. "Council is coping (with
the increased demand) but we are at the point of prioritising need, and
have been forced to create a small waiting list," she said. "However it is not as
large as the waiting lists for other HACC services." The meals on wheels service
includes hot and cold meals, with hot meals delivered every weekday to
Hamilton, Coleraine and Penshurst residents and frozen meals delivered to
the rest of the shire through a variety of arrangements. In addition, a number of Senior
Citizens' Centres provide hot meals for people to sit down and eat at the
centre. Volunteer role There are currently 120
volunteers in Hamilton, 60 in Coleraine, 15 in Penshurst and 17 in
Glenthompson Ñ comprising individuals, couples and groups. Based on the
number of volunteers, a single run would take between 45 minutes and one
hour. Ms Herbert said more volunteers would enable shorter runs. "Our current volunteers
provide a terrific service, but we are always very happy for more to join
up across the shire as a whole, particularly in relation to school holiday
periods when school children, who help out with the service, are
unavailable and many people go away," she said. "We are lucky to have access to the high number of volunteers who
are willing to contribute to the service across the shire." Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
