I was appalled to read about the Council's proposed cuts to the hot meal delivery service.

Having worked in social care for older people most of my working life, I know what a vital service meals on wheels is.

Social care provision to older people has been cut to the bare bone already, putting thousands of vulnerable people at risk.

What use is the delivery of frozen meals to a person with dementia or very poor mobility or restricted use of their hands?

Too many times I have seen the unnecessary decline of an elderly person because they are unable to successfully heat up a meal or even open the packaging or simply find the whole process too tiring so they just dont bother to eat!

What sort of a society have we become when we value our old folk so little that we are almost at the point of 'posting a pastie through their letterbox' as a form of 'providing care'.

Folk need to see another human being, be helped to ensure their meal is hot and served up properly and have a little company if only for a few minutes.

It's little enough to ask after a lifetime of working and paying their taxes isn't it? Private companies delivering meals is all very well but will those delivery drivers be trained in spotting deterioration in an old person's condition, have the right skills and time to encourage that person to eat.

I doubt that very much since it will be driven purely by profit margins and how many meals they can get out in a given time. Once the meal is delivered, that is their job done.

Whether the recipient can open the packaging or even eat the meal is not the concern of the meal provider. The meal is delivered - job done!

Like I said, we are almost down to 'posting a pastie through the letterbox', and we dare to call that 'caring for our old folk'. A caring society? I don't think so.

Sharron Howard

Buckley Lane

Farnworth

Bolton