People with disabilities say coronavirus means they are struggling to get deliveries
Wed 18 Mar 2020 09.49 EDT
Last modified on Wed 18 Mar 2020 11.00 EDT
Disabled people are being left cut off from vital supplies due to the coronavirus pandemic, as charities warn of a rising number of calls from worried individuals who are struggling.
It comes as Sainsbury’s said it would allocate specific hours for vulnerable and elderly patients to do their shopping and prioritise delivery slots for them.
People with disabilities have contacted the Guardian to say they are not able to get their supermarket food deliveries due to panic buying and stockpiling of goods, which has increased demand on supermarkets amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
A number of people have also struggled to get vital medical supplies, with a woman who has muscular dystrophy unable to find any non-latex gloves for suctioning her airway. She had to pay £70 to get them from Amazon.
Another woman with a systemic neuro-immune condition said all the online supermarket delivery slots were booked up to April, while another individual who contacted Sainsbury’s to complain says she was asked why they should prioritise disabled people.
The national disability charity Scope said about a quarter of calls to its helpline have been about coronavirus, but almost all calls have mentioned it in some capacity.
Ceri Smith, head of policy and campaigns at Scope, said: “This is a difficult time for lots of different reasons, some of which disproportionately affect disabled people.
“The social care system is already stretched and under severe pressure. Disabled people who rely on this support are deeply worried about a shortage of carers due to illness, and the impact self-isolation will have on their ability to do the basics in life.
“Many disabled people are concerned about panic buying leading to a lack of essential supplies and a scarcity of supermarket home delivery slots. The situation is changing fast and it’s important that the government take disabled people’s concerns seriously.”
Ed Holloway, director of services at the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, said: “Calls to our free MS helpline have more than doubled, and without question the majority are coronavirus-related.”
Tony Phippar tweeted Sainsbury’s to say his wife, Helen, always gets her groceries delivered due to disabilities and cannot shop in the store. She claimed the company’s response over the phone was: “Why should we prioritise disabled people?”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said the supermarket had got in touch with Helen to apologise for her experience, which did not reflect the standard of service it works hard to meet. Sainsbury’s said: “We are an inclusive retailer and committed to helping our elderly, vulnerable and disabled customers.”
The supermarket said that as of 23 March it will prioritise delivery slots for those over 70 and those with disabilities, adding it would contact those customers in the coming days.
Joanne Oliver, 59, is housebound with a systemic neuro-immune condition and has been off work sick for more than a year. She said: “I have been having Sainsbury’s deliveries for around a year and have paid for a delivery pass. I cannot get a delivery slot up to 6 April and none are released up to that date either.
“If the stores cannot offer this service, the government should step in. Imagine if you are ill and live alone … You’ve nowhere to turn to. People will be starving to death in their own homes if this isn’t resolved soon, not to mention the effect the stress of worrying about getting food, etc will have on people with already poor mental health.”
Andrew Jukes, who is HIV positive and has other medical issues as well as mobility issues, said: “Delivery slots in central London are a complete nightmare. The closest one we could get is two and a half weeks away. Trying to get things that we need like toilet rolls, hand sanitiser, soap and basic food items is also a complete nightmare, my local shop is a Waitrose and they are refusing to ration stuff, and so basically everything is gone at 9am. Unfortunately there is always a really large queue and as I have limited mobility there is no way I can actually join it.”
The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
Despite a surge in sales of face masks in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, experts are divided over whether they can prevent transmission and infection. There is some evidence to suggest that masks can help prevent hand-to-mouth transmissions, given the large number of times people touch their faces. The consensus appears to be that wearing a mask can limit – but not eliminate – the risks, provided it is used correctly.
Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns. In the UK any household where a person develops a fever or a new continuous cough are recommended to self-isolate for 14 days.
Justin McCurry
Other disabled people have reported struggling to get key items such as wet wipes and non-latex gloves. Emma Vogelmann said: “My carers wear them when they suction my trachea. The catheter goes into my airway, so they have to wear them. I usually get them at my pharmacy but they were out and couldn’t get any ordered.” In the end, she had to go on Amazon and buy some for £70 as the procedure is life-threatening without the gloves. “I could die in four minutes. My airway could get completely blocked and I could stop breathing.”
Catherine Hale in London, who has ME and her partner has severe asthma, said she is self-isolating but has children still going to school. “There’s a scandalous absence of face masks, which are the only protection we can have if or when my kids get the virus. I’ve tried to buy some on eBay but told they’ve been expropriated by customs! This was completely predictable and avoidable. We are resorting to making our own out of kitchen roll and knicker elastic, following a video tutorial from Shanghai. That is literally my plan for self-preservation, knowing that if my partner needs critical care there probably won’t be beds, or respirators or staff left,” she said.
Evan Odell, a researcher from Disability Rights UK, said while panic buying was “an understandable if frustrating response to the coronavirus outbreak, it is not helpful and many people who are likely to be most impacted by Covid-19 are not able to stockpile basic necessities.
He added: “However, the high demand for grocery delivery simply reflects the millions of people who have been advised to self-isolate. Impromptu local groups and store managers implementing rationing of basic good are doing far more to help disabled people than the government has been. We urge people to be kind to one another and to be mindful of others’ needs.”
