PCC News

Luckily, the village already had a fully functioning car scheme, which takes villagers without transport to the doctor, the hospitals and a host of other medical providers. It also collects and delivers prescriptions for the housebound. All of this being one of several village facilities organised by Churches Together in Ludham. With the full support of the Parish Council, a quick ring round the committee resulted in the car scheme being widened to include the supply of food to locked down villagers.

An immediate problem cropped up – almost all of the 30 or so volunteer drivers of the car scheme were themselves over 70 and therefore in lockdown. A prominent poster and the village community Facebook page brought forth 22 new and younger volunteers, so with the active members of the original car scheme, we now had a force of 36 people. The existing scheme telephone number would now receive orders for food as well as prescriptions and medical transport.

Accounts were opened at the two village stores by Treasurer John Fletcher, so that the volunteers could do a shop, sign for the goods and deliver them with a copy of the till slip. Any items not available in the village are bought in the nearest Tesco, Roys of Wroxham or Meales Farm Shop in Smallburgh. A second copy of the till slip is posted through the Treasurer’s letter box and he sends monthly bills to each ‘customer’, payments being collected at the time of the next delivery. Prescriptions are collected and delivered daily from the village surgery.

At the time of writing, 231 food orders and 281 prescriptions have been delivered, a total of 512 ‘missions’. The scheme is still looking after 92 villagers.