CATERING
A Delivery Of Care
Dr Ben Maruthappu, Co-Founder and CEO at home care specialist Cera, explains how food delivery services can benefit the care sector.
Many people in care do not have access to the quality food they need. In fact, a study by the Malnutrition Task Force earlier this year revealed that, in 2015/16, 184,528 bed days in hospitals were accounted for by patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition, a substantial rise from 65,048 10 years ago. Unfortunately there are no end of stories about malnourished patients in care homes caused by inadequate diet, and, with recent budget cuts placing more pressure on care homes, it is especially important that we help people to receive proficient care at home wherever possible.
While some patients can rely on family or friends for this resource, I believe those without this kind of support available would greatly benefit from incorporating an at-home food delivery service into their lives. Here at Cera, we are keen to ensure that our patients reap the benefits of the mobile-first world by making on-demand groceries a part of our core service.
A number of companies can now deliver same-day produce - from fresh and healthy ‘’take-away’’ style meals, to frozen food and weekly staples. Orders are made online and delivered
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directly to the patient, enabling the maintenance of a full and nutritious diet without the hassle of shopping and cooking. Wiltshire Farm Foods has been in business since 1991 and is a good example of how this works in practice, as the dishes are cooked by chefs in Wiltshire and delivered straight to the door, from one of 75 delivery outlets nationwide. Because they receive orders online, this can easily be managed by the patient themselves, their carer, or family member either at the actual residence or from another location.
Another appealing option that we have been investigating at Cera is collaborating with a retail giant like Amazon, which has recently opened its online grocery service, Amazon Fresh, in London. The venture has led Amazon to trial new technologies to improve how we deliver and store perishable products and the company is even seeking to develop long-life meals. Amazon Fresh offers a selection of different packages, all of which can be organised by a care worker on behalf of a patient, to ensure that specific tastes and health requirements are dealt with accordingly. The care worker would also be responsible for making sure the food
is properly stored in the home, and can be easily accessed by the patient.
One of the greatest benefits of having access to these services is that care workers feel more empowered about their work, which is as much emotional as it is physical. Because a proper diet is so important to patients, care workers who have this essential component taken care of are able to spend more quality time with the people they are assisting.
At Cera, we believe in supporting lifestyle-empowerment and self– sufficiency, meaning that those in need of care should have the right to remain in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible, as independently as possible. As food is vital to ensuring this can happen, the emergence of on- demand food services for this purpose promises huge advances in the care industry. Moreover, if this service is implemented nationwide, there is no reason why it could not be made easily affordable for all. If the move proves to be successful, a catering service of this kind could even be adopted by care homes, as it could alleviate staff of the vital, but time-consuming responsibility of keeping the country’s most vulnerable people properly fed.
ceracare.co.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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