CONCERNS have been raised by Wyre Forest residents about plans to stop a vital meals on wheels service.

Worcestershire County Council has plans to stop the service on Wednesday, October 1, when the contract of current provider, Agincare Cuisine, will end.

The council has no other provider lined up to take over, however, they have assured users they will still get dinners.

County councillor Sheila Blagg, portfolio holder for adult services, said residents will be dealt with on a case by case basis with the alternative being a reheated “chilled meal”, implying microwave meals.

“We would like to reassure service users that individual solutions will be discussed on a case by case basis,” she said.

“Should people have the facility to reheat a chilled meal, we will give them details of a range of providers in their area.

“Should it be that service users are unable to do that, we will undertake further assessment to ensure that people have an appropriate alternative in place.”

A Kidderminster resident, who does not want to be named, told The Shuttle that he relies on the services and stopping it will affect forty to fifty vulnerable people in the area.

“I had to start using meals again this year, after previously using them in 2010, as I don’t have any family to look after me,” he said.

“I was contacted by the council in the middle of August telling me to contact them before the end of the month as the meals were stopping on October 1.

“It seems like there’s a lack of interest in the public’s health from the county council, as they’ve only given us a very short time to respond.

“The service ending will strike a hammer blow to elderly people.”

A joint letter was sent to all meals on wheels users from Agincare Cuisine and the county council on August 13.

The letter blamed a decline in the demand for the service from 700 to 150 meals a day as to why the company was not renewing its contract.

Mark Baker, operations director at Agincare Cuisine, said: “It is with great regret that we will not be renewing our contract with the council once the current contract comes to an end in September 2014.

“We looked very carefully at our business plans to see if we could continue, however, we felt, due to the fewer people receiving the service there was little alternative.”

The council will now be looking at delivering the hot meals through various other solutions instead of one single provider.

Councillor Blagg added: “The county council and Agincare Cuisine are working very closely together to ensure that all service users have a suitable alternative in place by the end of September.”