Comfort food off the menu?

People who deliver meals on wheels to the elderly spend an average of just over a minute with them, according to new research reported at the conference.

Delegates heard that from a sample of 100 meals-on-wheels deliveries there was only one instance of the person delivering the food going inside and putting the food on a plate.

Dr John Edwards, who carried out the research for Bournemouth University, said the emphasis on speedy delivery explained the minimal human contact. He said: "It's cost-driven, and if the food is hot there are food safety issues. They have got to be quick. The meals-on-wheels service is genuinely thought of by local authorities as having a social function. But it actually doesn't go further than checking that they are still alive."

Angela Elkholy, contract compliance officer for Tower Hamlets Council, said the contractor which prepared and delivered its meals had reduced the total delivery time for 35 people from two-and-a-half hours to one-and-a-half.

She added that this emphasis on speed might change if it was decided that certain elderly people needed to spend more time with the person who delivered their meals. It might even be more cost-effective than hiring another carer to come and check up on them twice a week.