As a stretch of the M4 ground to a halt this week after a fire in Newport’s Brynglas Tunnels, Monmouthshire County Council’s front-line staff kicked into action to make sure that the county’s most vulnerable people were reached by home care services.
Pauline Batty, Domiciliary Care Services Manager, explains:
“We knew the south of the county would be affected by the traffic delays yesterday and that residents in Magor, Undy, Rogiet, Caldicot and Portskewett would be relying on the community meals service.
“We had word from the delivery driver who covered this area to tell us they had been caught in the traffic. The delays were extensive and we knew they had the potential to disrupt home care services so we acted quickly and implemented a contingency plan.
“We alerted social workers so that they could monitor the situation and we phoned all of the service users who were likely to be affected. We arranged for three other delivery drivers to complete their rounds and offer assistance to the ‘delayed’ vehicle once it had freed itself from the traffic.
“The meals on board the vehicle were split between the four vehicles and delivered to all 37 residents within timescale.”
Cllr Geoff Burrows, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health, praised staff for their fast thinking:
“So many people got caught in the traffic disruption yesterday and it’s inevitable that this would filter through to community-based services. We had a real challenge to make sure that no-one felt the impact and thanks to dedicated front-line staff our most vulnerable residents were kept informed and got their meals on time. A job well done.”
