Being housebound, chronically ill and disabled means that you either have to get help getting groceries from the supermarket or have to get them delivered.
During the COVID pandemic, I have been unable to get delivery slots. This is still an issue where I live to this day even though the lockdown has currently been eased and people are allowed out more.
This means I have gone without food for long periods of time. I have gotten to the point of having nothing left due to having to go so long without getting a slot, even after checking constantly all day every day for many weeks!
This is still happening now even though the lockdown is in a lesser state, I still struggle to get slots.
During the pandemic only those that were on the extremely vulnerable list are able to get priority slots, which being housebound and chronically ill with chronic pain, CFS/ME, hidradenitis suppurativa and others, does not qualify me for this list so I do not get any priority for slots online! (Yet again the UK government showing how little they care for the disabled.)
When you get the groceries, they come in a crate left on the floor for you to empty. This is not just an issue during the pandemic, this is a year-round issue.
There are no bags as they were banned a while back. After a delivery like this I contacted the supermarket who told me to put down I was disabled and needed bags. I have done that numerous times but yet again no bags, just crates on the floor.
I asked the delivery driver why not and he said: “we don’t have bags for anyone!” He also didn’t do social distancing which at the time of posting this, is still a thing as COVID is still around and can be fatal.
I physically cannot bend down to pick things up! The most they can do it tip it over on the floor and leave. Either way, it is on the floor!
Luckily during the pandemic, I haven’t been alone at home so I had some help or I wouldn’t have been able to unpack them at all, BUT the person helping has severe back issues and is chronically ill as well. There was no other choice as there was no one else to help and I physically cannot do it, so they are suffering days after the groceries got delivered purely because of no bags and groceries left on the floor in crates!
I understand bags are banned, but there are reusable bags available, plus it is not like I am the only disabled person unable to unpack these crates in the country.
Why can’t they give you reusable bags and then the next delivery take them back if they need to? I don’t see the issue as reusable bags ARE available!
We are still in a pandemic and the delivery person last time didn’t even social distance and just stood much too close to the chronically ill high-risk person unpacking while they struggled in pain.
Apparently, deliveries are supposed to come in bags during the pandemic but if the stores run out then you don’t get bags, but all my orders so far have had no bags even though I keep putting I need bags as I am disabled and cannot unpack the crates.
How on earth do you manage to put away groceries if you have no one there to help you?
They won’t help you unpack them, and they can’t really come in with the crates and unpack each item one by one on your worktop. There wouldn’t be enough room for those crates in here anyway!
I had asked in the past if they could help me unpack and they said no they don’t have time or aren’t allowed to or other excuses, so I guess it is down to the driver.
Obviously, during the pandemic, they couldn’t help anyway but they don’t outside of it either. Bags are a must for disabled people like me in this situation!
Disabled people are again forgotten about and uncared about.
Just searching on the internet shows how many disabled people are struggling due to food delivered in crates.
It is bad enough for me getting food online as there is a minimum spend plus a delivery charge which when you only get around £300 a month total income like me, is a huge amount as I have 70p a day for food!
Then when it comes, it arrives in a crate that I can’t physically unpack and if I tried, I would literally end up in the hospital.
Supermarkets need to make changes for disabled people that need help!
