We have joined forces with Blood Cancer UK, the British Lung Foundation, Asthma UK, the PKD Charity, and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust calling on the UK’s big supermarkets to support more than 1.5 million extremely vulnerable people.
Paul Bristow, Chief Executive of Kidney Care UK, said: “There are around 65,000 people on dialysis or who have had a kidney transplant in the UK right now who are extremely vulnerable with an increased risk of a severe reaction to Covid 19. Despite this, many have still not received a letter giving them the protection of being shielded, and its associated support of priority access to food deliveries.
“We continue to receive calls on a daily basis from anxious patients, too scared to go out for food but who also cannot get a priority slot for home delivery. No vulnerable group should be forced to choose between their safety and the need to access essential shopping and this needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.”
We are asking the supermarkets to demonstrate their commitment to support the most vulnerable by:
- Giving people who are shielding and therefore in the “extremely vulnerable” category the single highest priority, even if they’re not an existing customer.
- Ensuring that people who meet the criteria for the “extremely vulnerable” category but have not yet received a letter are able to access priority slots.
- Make enough priority slots available to make sure everyone in the “extremely vulnerable” category can get a weekly delivery.
- Prominently displaying a button on their website for “extremely vulnerable” people and their families to easily find out how to get slots.
- Having a phoneline for people in the “extremely vulnerable” category to sort out issues with enough staff to enable people to get through within 20 minutes, and those answering phones should have access to people who can make decisions about who is eligible.
- Ensure that all the above applies to those living with someone shielding as well as the person themselves.
