A care at home provider is offering hungry West Lothian residents an innovative new scheme – it will deliver fish and chips to your door.
Bield, Scotland’s leading provider of housing and care, is expanding its services to give older people living at home the opportunity to choose just how much care they need.
From dogwalking and window washing to the Friday night fish and chip run, people living at home can hire carers to help with small tasks for as little as a quarter of an hour.
The idea was inspired by a group of sheltered housing residents who are already enjoying Friday fish and chip nights at the West Port development in Linlithgow, with the orders delivered by care home staff.
SUCCESS
It has proved so successful Bield is now expanding its care at home service to any elderly resident living within one mile of West Port, Linlithgow.
Kathryn Telford, Service Manager at Bield explained: “Traditional care packages such as home help services have been lost over the years.
“But we want to offer a service that allows people to remain living independently at home for as long as they can, with just a bit of support where they need it.
“To be eligible, they simply need to be over the age of 60 and be living within a one-mile radius.
“The thinking behind the service is that it allows people to tailor the care they need, so instead of rigidly assigning carers for people’s homes for a specific duration and time slot, we are placing the control with the person using the service.
“They can now decide what level of care or support they need and purchase the service directly from Bield. This reflects the anticipated changes in the future in how services will be provided and purchased, giving people greater choice and control.
“It’s an extremely flexible service as they also only pay for what they need, when they need it so essentially, we’re fitting in with their lives.
“It is also flexible in terms of what it can provide and we are already helping with a variety of activities – helping someone to walk the dog, helping people with showering and personal care, washing windows, preparing meals and organising social events such as the fish and chip night.
“This service embodies our vision of allowing people to make their own choices and lead independent and fulfilling lives. We are continually exploring new approaches to make this possible and fully believe the service could be successfully replicated throughout Scotland.”
The service is expected to be rolled out into the local communities Bield operates in during 2013.
It costs from just £3.15 for a quarter of an hour and the cost can be shared with other people using the service at the same time.
SUPPORT
The initiative has been warmly welcomed by Chief Executive Brian Logan, who believes this innovative approach to care at home typifies the approach Bield has made to improve the lives of the people who use its services.
He said: “As Scotland’s leading provider of housing, care and community services for older people we are dedicated to providing quality care which enhances and enriches lives.
“The Free to Be commitment is very much at the heart of Bield’s mission – to let people make their own choices about how they live their lives but being there to support them when they need it.
“Older people still have ambition and drive and where we can we offer additional support to give them the freedom to do the things they love but which might otherwise be taken away without the right help and support.”
Bield – a registered charity – has grown from humble beginnings, starting out with one housing development in Bo’ness to become a major provider of a wide range of housing and services for around 20,000 older people across 22 local authority areas.
