Covid 19 coronavirus: Napier City Council staff and councillors call elderly members of community

Napier City Council staff and councillors are calling elderly members of community during lockdown. Photo / File

Napier City Council staff and councillors are checking in on elderly members of the community via phone calls during the alert level 4 lockdown.

About 20 NCC staff members and three councillors have made almost 1000 phone calls to people over the age of 70 in the Napier community in an attempt to make sure their needs are met.

The staff, who have been redeployed for this work, began the welfare checks last week.

Faraday Centre manager, turned Napier call staff team leader Sharyn Phillips, said many of the elderly residents are happily independent and comfortable in their own bubbles, but some require follow up calls and further assistance.

"One lady had run out of food and didn't want to tell her granddaughter who was coming every night to drop off dinner for her," she said.

"We arranged for a welfare package, and she told us when we did a follow-up call, it was like Christmas. She also had an injury and her daughter was able to take her to the doctor yesterday to have it seen to.

"Some people say they don't want to be a burden to anyone, or they're too worried or unable to go out for essential services. The relief they feel when someone calls, particularly for those who live alone, even if they are doing okay and are happy just to have a chat, is clear."

She was one of four people whose details were passed on to get assistance with food parcels over the Easter break, according to Phillips.

A total of 3500 names were supplied to NCC by the Ministry of Social Development, with those not yet contacted expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

According to NCC, a seriously ill person was taken to hospital after being advised to activate her medical alarm after one of the phone calls.

Napier incident management team welfare manager Natasha Mackie said while the calls take up a lot of time, it's worth it when you are able to help people who would otherwise have fallen through the gaps.

Welfare checks for seniors living alone in Hastings, Wairoa and Central Hawke's Bay have also either been done or are under way.

NeedToKnow3

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website