On vulnerable list but still not able to get delivery slots?

[chocolatesaltyballs22]

My husband has had the dreaded letter from the government telling him to shield. This was weeks ago and he immediately registered on government website. We still haven't been able to get supermarket delivery slots. He called Tesco this morning (who I have an online account with) and they've checked the database and told him he's not on the government list. So he's just registered again but we have no way of knowing whether this has worked.

Has anyone else had this problem? Seems like the system is fundamentally flawed.

I had an automated phone call from Sainsbury's 12 days ago. It said that I was now on their register as a vulnerable person, and would be able to book home delivery slots via their website, but to be aware that there might be a delay of 2 or 3 days before the information goes through and the slots become accessible.

12 days later and the home delivery booking page is still saying "We’re really sorry, but we haven’t been able to identify you as one of our elderly or vulnerable customers based on the information we have."

I know they are busy, so I didn't worry too much for the first week, perhaps the 2 to 3 day delay was from a month ago when the "you are now on our register" message was first recorded, and they had got even more busy since then?

Now that it has been nearly 2 weeks I am starting to worry that the website database has been updated but my details didn't get included properly. I tried to phone but the line is answered by an automated voice that tells you to look at the website for information, and witters on about other stuff I already know for several irritating minutes, before saying that they are too busy to answer calls, please try again later.

I think some people are hogging all the slots and the system isn't working well to support those that need it. There is definitely some hogging of delivery slots by some people who have managed to jump through some hoops. People need to start being considerate, maybe even limit to one delivery a week so others get a chance! I feel terrible for you OP, you should be able to get a delivery - it's really not fair at all!

@Toomuchgoingon did you re-register on the website?

@angellegna. Hi, yes I did.

You don’t need the slots. The gov advice is clear - if someone in a household needs to shield themselves then an adult in the household who doesn’t does the shopping.

I phoned Tesco last week to get MIL put on the vulnerable list - we're in Scotland and the govt hasn't joined up with the supermarkets yet - and the operator told me that vulnerable slots are released around 4.30, NOT midnight. That's the ordinary slots.

@GrumpyHoonMain

Anyone going out in the house where the shielded person lives is then a very high risk of bringing it in.

If they don't need to go out, they shouldn't be. To protect that person.

Youve got to check back in the day time.
Slots become available throughout the day

@GrumpyHoonMain that's not correct. If you live with a shielded person and can isolate yourself from them then you can shop/go out. MIL needs physical help from us for personal care, stairs, handing over drugs etc. We can't go out because we can't stay apart from her. It's very hard to isolate properly from someone you live with in most normal houses.

@GrumpyHoonMain are you shielding yourself from a loved one that you live with? I am, and it's bloody hard. Its impossible if you don't have a large house and miserable even if you do. It is absolutely reasonable for the OP to use the "vulnerable" delivery slots (if she can get one) in order to avoid having to do so.

DH is shielding but as he’s isolating too I go out. There are click and collect slots aplenty at random times at random ASDAs sort of locally so I just try my luck.
We’d be fucked if I got ill though.
Also I could cheerfully murder those who get a delivery slot with no vulnerable/shielding household members. LIGHTHEARTED but my underlying point is a serious one. We’re not ‘in this together’ by any stretch of the imagination.

I mean bathrooms aside where would the spare person sleep? the floor?

Are you trying on the app and website?

I sat here with my phone (app) and laptop connected to Tesco and they showed different availability. According to the Tesco app 6 May was sold out but the website was showing every slot available on that day(?)

KatyMac, You don't seriously expect the Government to know every extremely vulnerable person's living arrangements, do you?
The guidelines for shielding are just that - they're guidelines.
You read them and work out for yourself what is and isn't possible in your given situation.
Every extremely vulnerable person will have different living arrangements, family set ups, homes etc.
You just have to follow the guidelines to the best of your ability given the circumstances in which you live.
I'm a shielder too.
DH is currently doing our shopping and adhering stringently to social distancing.
That is our choice largely due to the fact that we have no family locally and on line shopping, up to now, has not been possible.
Other shielders may not have that choice due to other needs (see LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett's MIL) or the shielder may be a young child, or the shielder may live with 2 others in a 1 bed 1 bathroom flat etc etc etc

Queueing for Tesco online at midnight might be your best bet. M&S and Morrisons also do food boxes if things get desperate.

No but realistically in the group of people who are shielding there will be a higher proportion of lower income families who will live in smaller properties with less space, fewer bedrooms and fewer bathrooms

If it is your partner that is shielding - avoiding them could mean sleeping on a floor or a sofa; fine for a while but impossible/painful for 12 weeks

Wow loads of replies - thanks. The advice regarding trying at 4.30 for Tesco and trying the website as well as app is useful.

We don't need to use Tesco, that just happens to be who we use already for online shopping. Would like to stick with them if they could make it a little easier for us! But would use another.

I think sadly they are just overwhelmed with demand and there just isn’t enough slots for the amount of people who are being added to the vulnerable list each day
My mum is vulnerable but not in the shielding category so despite being housebound and unable to walk amongst other illnesses she don’t get any priority so I stay up till midnight each night to try and book her future slots, so far I’ve managed to get one each week but it’s difficult
She has a Tesco delivery saver which she has had for years, that doesn’t give her any priority at all f SF o it’s just luck of the draw each night

It's very frustrating.

We use Sainsburys and slots opened up to us 3 weeks ago. So past 3 weeks we've had a slot on a Tues and then I book the following week on the Wednesday after the shops has arrived.

I now seem to have had this revoked and I cannot book anything at all?

Its actually DC who is shielding but when I completed the gov form I used my number and email address (which I what is linked to my online shopping account)

The system was working and now it isn't?

@GrumpyHoonMain

The shielding letter clearly states the whole household should shield but obviously situation dictates. We don't have the space to all have a bedroom each / stay 2m apart and our shielded member is a wee 2yo who wouldn't understand no physical contact.

We also have older kids who need to ger some exercise so we do very early or very last bike rides for them every other day. Other than that we are all in, to protect the little one.

If one of us were to get symptoms then we'd have to introduce some kind of isolation part of the house but it would be a last resort.

We managed to get a slot with Morrisons for tomorrow by staying up until midnight 3 weeks ago.

A week ago we stayed up until midnight to get a Tesco slot in May. It's worth a try OP.

In the meantime, Morrisons boxes are excellent. We got a vegetarian one for us, and my parents and a meat one for my grandparents. They're quite consistently available at the moment. M&S also do a nice looking box but sadly only for meat eaters. We have also ordered some food from Holland and Barrett and an organic veg company. Oh, and we got some bread and milk etc. from Beelivery. Beelivery is a good way to get some basics in.

My Dad is shielding and his GP arranged for a charity lady to do his shopping, so it's worth seeing if your GP can do similar. Have you tried your local residents association? Our local residents association has a team of volunteers who will buy food for anyone struggling.

I have difficult to control asthma and narrowly missed the shielding list. As DH and I live in a small flat, it would be impossible to avoid each other and so we're both practicing very stringent social distancing.

My colleague with much milder asthma than me which is well controlled is currently receiving oxygen in hospital due to Covid-19

Sorry to hear about your colleague @caffisalimali, it's scary as you just don't know how it's going to affect you if you get the virus. My husband is on immuno-suppressants and that's why he has to shield. My and my daughter are paranoid about leaving the house because of what we might bring back. And whilst I know the volunteers are doing a fabulous job, the reality is that you would be trusting a complete stranger to be extra careful while they are in the supermarket shopping for you.

I'm sure we'll get sorted soon - thanks for all of the responses.

The system isn't working at all.

I'm the household shopper so all the loyalty cards are in my name. DH is on the shielding list.

We've not shopped online for about 6 years, so we aren't in any systems.

I have no choice but to go to the supermarket every 2 weeks to do an enormoshop.

The government say it's working. The supermarkets think it's working. But it's not. And when you try and contact the supermarkets for clarification you get a standard "don't chase us, we'll call you if we think you qualify" as a response.

Meanwhile all the regular online shoppers I know who aren't shielding are still merrily getting a delivery every week 🤷‍♀️

The gov advice is clear - if someone in a household needs to shield themselves then an adult in the household who doesn’t does the shopping. The government advice is also clear - if someone else does the shopping, then they have to isolate themselves in the house from the shielded person. The shielded person needs to sleep in their own bed in a separate room, eat their meals alone, not spend time in communal areas, ideally use a separate bathroom.

Basically, if a shielded person gets infected, the likelihood is that they will die. I am not going to risk bring infection in the house by going out at all, and I am not going to make my DH live what may be his last months isolated from me.