As the deadline looms for the ending of the Meals on Wheels contract, concerns have been raised about how many could be losing out.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s contract with Age Concern runs out on Friday.

When the announcement was made, Age Concern described the decision to end funding for the service as ’short sighted, in both financial and human terms’.

This is despite the DHSC insisting that those who used the service would see no decline in standards - and it would provide assistance and advice to those who required it.

Coming in the form of a two-page leaflet, the DHSC suggested recipients contact either Jack Frost or Wiltshire Farm Foods, both of which would offer frozen meals on a weekly delivery service and could provide for dietary requirements as needed.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, via its base in Southport, stated it hoped to be fully operational with a Manx-based franchise in two to three weeks’ time.

It told the Examiner that it had received around 75 inquiries since the leaflet was published.

Douglas-based Jack Frost said the company had been approached by 80 residents and it welcomed these new customers.

However, Jack Frost’s assistant general manager Gary Cain confirmed it was his company’s understanding there had been 278 recipients of Meals on Wheels and the company was concerned about those who had not been in contact.

He added they had ’asked the relevant bodies if they could provide a list of service users but we have been unable to attain such a list’.

Jack Frost said it would be offering local fresh produce to residents and would be seeking to improve its online order service to make this more user-friendly but would also be maintaining the ordering system used by Age Concern to make the transition as easy as possible for their customers.

Mr Cain said: ’We have extended the existing chilled menu as supplied by Noble’s Hospital until the end of January when our new supplier will be on stream.

’This supplier will provide frozen complete ready meals and are a major supplier of individual and multi-portion meals to the North and North West of England NHS and also provide meals to the Meals on Wheels services in both these areas.’

He said Jack Frost had expanded its workforce and was committed to meeting expectations.

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Wiltshire Farm Foods says it has been providing meals to between 100 and 150 Manx residents and said it ’looks forward to looking after those who lost their current service’.

Malcolm Couch, chief executive at the DHSC, said every recipient of Meals on Wheels was contacted by letter, which provided information about alternative suppliers and a number to ring if they wanted more support.

Mr Couch added: ’There is always going to be challenges. We are trying to help but to what extent do you intervene? You have to respect people.’