9 Apr 2020
The daughter of a vulnerable pensioner in the coronavirus “shielded” category has described her difficulty in securing supermarket delivery slots.
Leanne Tervit, whose 72-year-old mother Margaret has received three transplants and recently survived sepsis and pneumonia, is struggling to get hold of vital daily items.
The Fife woman is on the Scottish Government’s “shielded” list, but those details haven’t been shared with supermarkets.
That means Ms Tervit has to spend hours online in the hope of a slot opening up for her mother.
She’s a member of a UK-wide transplant network, and has spoken to counterparts south of the border who have been able to secure delivery slots.
That’s because the UK Government has informed supermarket chains of England’s most vulnerable patients, but the SNP has failed to do the same.
At today’s virtual First Minister’s Questions, Nicola Sturgeon said she hoped 130,000 vulnerable people would receive a text about sharing their details today, and that a system may be up and running by next week.
But for many, that process is taking far too long.
Ms Tervit, an SNP member, said she felt “let down” by the Scottish Government’s approach.
As she lives with her mother, who is extremely vulnerable, she cannot herself leave the house for fear of picking up the virus and passing it on, and therefore relies on supermarket delivery.
She said:
“The only way I can get a delivery slot is by checking all the big supermarkets several times a day in the hope one opens up.
“I’m a member of a couple of UK transplant support groups and when the letters telling us to shield came out, the people in England could register and are now able to get priority delivery slots online.
“There are people in Scotland with no support, so their only alternative is to risk going out to the shops when that’s specifically against official advice.
“I’m feeling let down right now by the Scottish Government. There should have been something in place before we were told to shield.”
Scottish Conservative shadow economy secretary Maurice Golden said:
“This family are in an impossible position purely because the SNP hasn’t shared the list of vulnerable people with supermarkets.
“The UK Government has managed it for shielded people in England, so there’s no reason why the Scottish Government can’t follow suit.
“Failure to do so is having a very real and damaging impact on families across Scotland.”
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