From the store to the door

Last updated: 10th March 2021

Note: This section has been archived as of 13th September 2021.

Delivering things people need safely 

The following groups may need your help with accessing essential items through home deliveries. People who:

• The NHS have advised that their health conditions make it very risky to go out without taking significant precautions. These are the shielded group and advice is available here. This group no longer get food delivered by public services and may have an increased need for your support if they still feel too vulnerable to go out

• others at slightly less risk with asthma or other conditions, advised to reduce going out when they can as they are at greater risk.

• people who are isolating at home because they or their families have symptoms of the virus. These people may be quite ill or have relatively mild symptoms, but it's vital they don't go out to avoid passing it to others.

• those who are financially affected during the crisis whether they previously used food banks or have lost income due to the pandemic. 

NHS Inform also provides the most up to date information for people who were previously told to shield here.

Although there is some evidence to suggest that transmission  surfaces may be a  less common way for it to spread, the risk of this is still thought to be significant. This is why we still urge you to pla to minimise any contamination via this route when you deliver your services.  In order to deliver things safely medicine or other essential items need to make the journey from the store to the door safely. This section helps you think through where there may be a possibility of the virus being transmitted on the things you deliver and how you might reduce that risk.

This section should also be read in conjunction with our advice onhand hygiene and how to clean and disinfect things. Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Below are the stages of your delivery process which you should think about.

Click to enlarge.

In order to deliver things safely medicine or other essential items need to make the journey from the store to the door safely. This section helps you think through where there may be a possibility of the virus being transmitted on the things you deliver and how you might reduce that risk.

How to  make things coming from shops or pharmacies safe 

There is no way of guaranteeing that goods and medicines are virus free when you get them. It's important to think about this as it's the first stage where the things you deliver could transmit the virus. We recommend that you:

• talk to suppliers about how things are sourced and stored. They will be thinking about this issue and could work with you to make sure everything is as safe as possible when you get it.

• if you have suitable storage, we recommend that you let non-perishable goods sit for a minimum of 72 hours  before delivery.

• if you have no storage you could also try to clean the surfaces of deliveries where possible and practical  when they come to you and before you deliver them. This is difficult but can be done, with more information in the cleaning and disinfection section .

This section should also be read in conjunction with the advice on hand hygiene and how to clean and disinfect things. You should be cleaning hands before and after every contact. Where soap and water aren't available, use hand sanitizers with at least 70% alcohol.  Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Below are the stages of your delivery process which you should think about.

Moving  goods safely from the storeroom to the front door

It is important to make sure that the precautions taken on the way in are as good on the way out, so we suggest:

• make sure you are strictly sticking to handwashing and social/physical distancing advice to avoid contaminating things.

• that any trolleys used are cleaned before and after they are used with bleach solution.

• that your vehicles are not harbouring the virus from anyone who has been in them; regularly cleaning vans or cars is therefore very important. It's also very important to makes sure that face coverings are worn when volunteers are sharing vehicles 

• it could be helpful to get cleanable plastic containers to transport things like shopping or tupperware for small things like medicine. You may be able to borrow these from supermarkets or buy them cheaply from high street discount stores. Costs for this could be included in grant bids you may make. Supermarket bags for life can be washed at 60 degrees in the washing machine and stored until they dry. 

• if this is practical and possible when you are using reusable containers you will need a system to get these back to your base without risking cross contamination of clean stores on the way out to households. You could consider using a different vehicle and volunteers or picking them up at a different time. They must be cleaned back at your base in line with the advice on cleaning and disinfection.

• make up cleaning kits to keep vehicles and your hands  clean when we are out and about. Standard disinfectant wipes can be used. Use hand sanitiser with 70% alcohol between leaving your vehicle and the front door and as you re-enter it between households. 

How to get things safely into the house

The advice given so far is to help reduce the risk that nothing you take to a home is contaminated, but we should still assume that it could be.

If you are delivering to a household where some people are fitter than others, it's a good idea to target the deliveries to the person at least risk and who is fit enough to take in the delivery. You should remind them of the importance of all the hand washing  precautions. You should explain these by phone in advance 

When you deliver to someone's house phone someone inside then leave the delivery on the doorstep for them to collect. If they have a small folding table, or a chair that could be left outside the front door for you to place the goods on this would make it easier for people who are a bit more frail to lift the goods.

If the person is frail, you could put things in several smaller bags or containers so that there is less to lift in one go. You should not enter the house. If they are not able to take in the delivery themselves they may need, or already have some form of home care support who could help with the delivery when they come to the house. The section on emergencies and more complex care offers advice on what to do in this situation.

You might be supporting someone who lives in a block of flats or other accommodation with communal areas. There are many extra touch points in this type of accommodation and infection transmission opportunities are increased.

Many social landlords have stepped up cleaning schedules but it is impossible to guarantee communal hallways, lifts, stairwells, buzzer entry systems, banisters etc. will be sterile or virus-free. You should be extra vigilant about hand hygiene when delivering items to accommodation with communal areas. 

Wherever possible and practical you should apply hand sanitizer before entering the building and at each point along the way to the person’s home e.g. after touching the buzzer entry, lift buttons, stair banisters and knocking the door. You should not enter the lift if someone else is in it. Remind the person that you are delivering to to wash their hands thoroughly after touching the items.  Repeat these hand hygiene steps when leaving the building.

In line with the latest regulations, you must wear a facial covering in any indoor public space; this includes communal areas of flats, accommodation, lifts etc. For information on facial coverings visit Section 2 of this resource.

As mentioned, below are the stages of your delivery process which you should think about. Click on image to enlarge.

We want to know what you think

Please get in touch if you would like to comment on the advice or ask a question on anything we haven't thought of and we will do our best to get an answer.