What supermarkets are doing to make the ‘shield list’ work

About 1. 5 million people in the UK have been identified as being at “much higher risk of complications” if they catch coronavirus. Late last month, many received a letter from the NHS telling them to stay at home and avoid all face-to-face contact for at least 12 weeks. Those on the so-called ‘shield list’ must even socially distance from the rest of their household, avoiding close contact and using separate towels.

For many of these people - unless someone can shop for them - their only option is to order online. If only they could get a delivery slot.

“We continue to receive calls on a daily basis from anxious patients, too scared to go out for food but who also cannot get a priority slot for home delivery,” says Paul Bristow, CEO of Kidney Care UK.

Earlier this month, after weeks of waiting, the major mults were finally issued details from the government of those on the shield list (in England) and who had requested extra assistance in accessing food. Until then, the supermarkets had been forced to determine for themselves who needed slots most, while facing criticism for not doing enough.

So, now they have the list, how are they ensuring those on it get slots? Is the system working as intended? And as the vulnerable persons database grows, can online grocery scale to keep up with demand?

“People who are very high risk are still struggling to order food online”

NHS Digital algorithms initially identified around 900,000 patients that should shield. Last week the count increased to about 1.3 million. The number will grow further as GPs and doctors add high-risk patients not identified by the algorithms.

Those receiving the letter can register online for additional support in getting food. Some 250,000 free food boxes - supplied by Bidfood and Brakes - have been sent to them so far. There will be “hundreds of thousands more to follow in the coming weeks” Defra says.

The website also asks if shielded people are happy for their details to be passed on to supermarkets to help them secure delivery slots. Defra says it is “not able to get into a running commentary on the numbers” taking this option, but Tesco said its supplied list totals 164,000 - up 50,000 in a week.

The mults have been busy cross-referencing against their customer databases. Tesco this week identified 120,000 from the list as existing customers, Sainsbury’s 150,000, Asda 125,000. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado and Waitrose all say they are reaching out to those people matched, typically by email.

Confusion

However, The Grocer understands there is confusion among retailers about whether non-customers can be proactively contacted, due to data protection regulations. “We are looking at how we can assist those who are clinically vulnerable, but who are not on any supermarkets’ existing online customer list,” Defra said.

Those matched are being offered easier access to online delivery slots. When using Tesco.com, they can choose from hundreds of thousands of home delivery slots each week that have been reserved for them. Asda is giving them free, recurrent weekly deliveries and “first access” to slots. Sainsbury’s has a careline for those on the list. Ocado says it has “reached out” to existing customers on the list to offer slots, as has Waitrose. Morrisons is yet to announce any measures involving the dataset, though it this week launched a new telephone shopping service for vulnerable customers, identified at a local level by store staff.

Still too difficult

But for many of those that need online groceries the most, the process is still too difficult.

Tess Harris, CEO of the UK PKD (polycystic kidney disease) Charity, which represents about 70,000 people on the shield list, says “many are finding it impossible to order online”.

Blood Cancer UK CEO Gemma Peters says that though many of the 115,000 people with blood cancer on the shield list “are telling us that things are improving, there are some who are very high risk who are still struggling to order food online”.

Many on the list are facing hours on hold. Some are even contacting The Grocer to ask if we can help. One “very distressed” shopper on the list said she “sometimes gets up in the middle of the night just in case this is when delivery slots are released”.

There are further complications for those in need. Many clinically extremely vulnerable people are yet to receive their letter from the NHS, meaning they can’t register for help.

For those with a letter, it’s not obvious further steps are needed to be added to supermarket lists. The online form asks if a free food box is needed, meaning many will abandon the process.

Meanwhile, there is public confusion about who is classed as vulnerable, with the government communicating that anyone who is over 70, or has an underlying health condition or is pregnant, is “at increased risk of severe illness”.

Late last week, five charities wrote to supermarket bosses calling for improvements. They want a phone line per retailer, with calls answered within 20 minutes and manned by people who can “make decisions about who is eligible”. They also want a “prominently displayed button” on websites for quick access to slots, and for access to be extended to those living with someone on the shield list.

The supermarkets are working to increase the number of delivery slots they can offer and have made huge gains in recent weeks. Tesco has boosted delivery slots by 20%, to 805,000 a week since the start of the month, and is targeting a million slots in coming weeks. Morrisons has this month increased delivery slots by 60%. Asda has boosted slots from 450,000 to 700,000 a week.

They are hoping to ease online demand with initiatives such as cashless volunteer shopping voucher schemes. Some supermarket CEOs have also simply asked online customers who are healthy enough to visit a store to do so instead.

Slot availability will come under even more pressure as the crisis continues and the shield list grows. The Motor Neurone Disease Association and other patient groups are lobbying government for their members to be added too. And there is the much larger “at risk” group of people who have been advised to practice strict social distancing and may need online services as well - a group numbering 19 million.

Bristow says: “No vulnerable group should be forced to choose between their safety and the need to access essential shopping. This needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.”

The question for supermarkets is still: how?

What about the rest of the UK?

• Scotland: 136,000 people are in the shielded group and have been asked by text if they want their details forwarded to supermarkets for priority service.
• Wales: 88,000 on the shield list, which has been passed to supermarkets. Housing minister Julie James last week acknowledged it was “very unlikely” all would get a priority slot and urged their family and friends to help.
• Northern Ireland: 10,400 homes where someone is shielding. NI minister for communities Deirdre Hargey has said informing retailers is more complicated than in England because patient information is held on disparate databases.