HOME care agency Right at Home GF, run by husband-and-wife duo Alistair and Kate Shanks with offices in Farnham and Bordon, has always had an outward-looking mindset.

It has been offering its services to the wider community through initiatives such as the popular Farnham Maltings-based Singing for the Mind sessions, as well as its own customer base.

However, never before has the agency’s community work been more conspicuous than through the present crisis, with Alastair, Kate and their dedicated band of care staff and ‘Friends of Right at Home’ volunteers providing a key role at the heart of the area’s coronavirus relief efforts, and Farnham in particular.

The Farnham and Villages Coronavirus Helpline took its 1,200th call this week – and the vast majority of those calls requesting help with supermarket shopping have been channelled through Right at Home, utilising the agency’s existing payment system and bank of 150-plus kind-hearted volunteers.

The agency has also initiated a ‘Friends Listen’ telephone buddy service for those confined to their homes and isolated from their friends and loved ones, and has taken many of its existing classes and workshops online, also helping the less tech savvy take their first steps into the wide-world web.

However, the great mystery is that, at a time when the community needs care services more than ever – and with the older, more vulnerable members of our society increasingly isolated from their traditional support networks – demand for Right at Home GF’s paid-for care services has tailed off.

“It’s a real concern,” said Alistair.

“When this all started, we had about 20 clients cancel their care, which were mostly people with lower needs, and some were living with their families who are now around more to support them.

“But some of them weren’t and aren’t.

“It’s just, I guess, a fear of being in contact with anyone, which was understandable.

“And if the lockdown had just gone on for a couple of weeks, that might have been fine. But actually, I’m really worried about people’s mental and physical health if they’re not seeking support.

“Our inquiry level has also dropped from typically 12 to 15 inquiries a week down to about three or four a week.

“So there’s definite indication of people not seeking help when they need it.”

Alistair added the agency had done everything it could to reassure clients that home care is a safe form of care, with staff – who are already trained in infection control – wearing gloves, aprons, face masks and, where appropriate, face visors for every visit.

And he added that, though interaction with others does present risks, there is a greater risk of not seeking help when it’s needed.

He said: “Social distancing is really important, and our team are passionate about that – they actually get quite cross if they see people who are not distancing, because they know it’s needed to protect our clients.

“But I think, at the same time, to completely avoid any contact for these elderly, isolated people is very damaging for them – especially as it’s looking like, particularly for that sector of society, the lockdown is going to potentially carry on for quite a long time.”

For more information about Right at Home GF’s various home care services, or to inquire about the agency’s not-for-profit telephone companionship or shopping services, visit the website www.

rightathomegf.co.uk or call 01252 950665. All volunteers have been interviewed, DBS and identity- checked and trained by video.