Meals on Wheels is relaunching

Cardiff Council's Meals on Wheels service will be relaunched tomorrow.

As part of a host of activities organised by the Council and partners to mark Dementia Awareness Week (May 14-20), the new service will be setting up stall at Central Library Hub on Thursday, May 18 offering lots of information and even some tasty samples for the public to try.

The Council has been delivering Meals on Wheels to vulnerable people across the city since 1978 but now has a fresh new brand and is available to more people than ever before.

The service is about more than just delivering a meal but also gives peace of mind to customers and their loved ones by providing social interaction and a welfare check.

Meals on Wheels delivers hot, nutritious meals to customers across the city and people can now self-refer to the service or can be referred by family, friends, neighbours, or health or social care professionals.

Customers that meet one of the following criteria can now receive the service:

• Having difficulty preparing a meal safely

• Liable to self-neglect or would eat an inappropriate diet without the service

• Unable to shop for food

• Have a mental or physical disability

• Needing support due to recovery from hospitalisation or illness; carer illness or holiday, or bereavement.

The affordable service caters for people of all ages, not just the elderly and customers can choose when and how often they would like to receive meals. A wide selection of meals, catering for a variety of diets, conditions and choices are available from £3.90 a day, delivered free of charge by our friendly team.

The service provides peace of mind for customers and their families and complements the City Council's response and warden service, Telecare Cardiff, which helps people to live independently in their own homes for longer.

Jean Sellers of Fairwater is a customer of both Meals on Wheels and Telecare. She has meals delivered to her home from Monday to Friday and is very happy with the services.

Mrs Sellers, said: "I've had my hips replaced and can't stand long enough to cook myself so Meals on Wheels is great for me. I like the meal, and Arthur who delivers them is as good as gold. I would definitely recommend the service."

Thursday's launch will also include the opportunity for people to find out more about Council services like Telecare Cardiff with special offers for customers who sign up during Dementia Awareness Week and also the chance for a free trial of ‘Archie', a personal monitoring device for people living with degenerative cognitive conditions.

The device has a number of benefits including 24/7, 365 days a year alerts to our Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) when a user leaves home/or other specified areas at an unusual or unexpected time; a way of locating the user and via the ARC, co-ordinate an appropriate response to physically help them and providing a method of communication between the user and ARC operators.

For more information about Archie, telephone 029 20234298 or emailMichelle.orfanoudakis@cardiff.gov.uk

To find out more about the new Meals on Wheels service and Telecare Cardiff, contact 029 2053 7080, emailmealsonwheels@cardiff.gov.ukortelecare@cardiff.gov.uk