"I live in the 12th most deprived council ward in the country and health is a particular concern. The life expectancy is ten years lower than the UK average. The Health Improvement Service provides support for an elderly group with dementia and I have seen how what they do has helped some of those people to feel alive again. I have never seen some of them so happy. If the budget is taken away, this could all be lost." Reverend Gary Kennedy, St Clement's Church, Broughton
This statement from Reverend Kennedy sums up the feelings conveyed in an email to Salford City councillors, MPs and City Mayor, Ian Stewart, about the effect that £1.6million cuts to Salford's Health Improvement Service will have on the community.
The Salford Star reported last week that details from a leaked Council report showed plans to axe £1.616million from the Health Improvement Service, with £1.47million being cut in 2015-16, and £146,000 in 2016-17, leading to the loss of fifty jobs and 13 possible compulsory redundancies. Services to be slashed included work with elderly people suffering from dementia, young people suffering from trauma and people needing help with weight management, healthy eating or mental health problems (see previous Salford Star article – click here)
Now, nine groups plus volunteers and people who use the service are pleading with Salford Council to think again about cutting the Service. Here is a selection of the testimonies...
"I feel like the public in Walkden and Little Hulton struggle to interface with Salford Council. The staff in the Health Improvement Team do a great job in addressing this by meeting and liaising with the public." Sam Addison, President of Walkden Rotary Club.
"The Bumps and Babies group has helped not only personally to breastfeed my child for over two years, having had no experience of doing it with my first child, but has also supported me to become a breastfeeding peer mentor so that I can help other mum's in the same situation. I really hope the service can continue because it's so important." Mandy Payne, Bumps and Babies
"With my first baby - like most mums - I didn't know an awful lot. Health Improvement were invaluable in supporting me with breastfeeding. I didn't want to leave the house, but they were so willing to keep contacting me and trying to support me that their efforts managed to get me along to one of the groups. Without their support I would have given up." Frances Jones
"I volunteer to help the `reminiscence' groups at St Clement's Church every Monday. We are there to support elderly people to explore their own histories because it helps them in their battles against dementia. Without the group these people would be extremely isolated. We need Health Improvement to keep this group going. They are even helping me get back into education and training after having been out of work having children. They're fantastic." Sarah, Volunteer
"The loss of this service would have a devastating effect. We have developed a great partnership with Health Improvement colleagues. They have provided invaluable support to refugees and asylum seekers; particularly the young people. One example is the football group they organise every Thursday at Salford Sports Village. This is attended by 30 - 40 people every week. It's so important." Bernie Lomax, Just Youth
"Since I started working with the Health Improvement Service I have been really impressed by what they do. The benefit for clients is immeasurable. The people we work with have been through genuine trauma and the services Health Improvement provides sport, football, talking, going to the gym – it has contributed so much to the healing that is needed." Gervase O'Connell, Revive
"For the past six year we have worked to provide the Women of the World and Men of the World support groups. Health Improvement has been the back-bone and has provided fantastic mentoring support for us." Emily Mmbololo, Women of the World and Men of the World.
"The support that men – mid 20s to late 70s – found in the Men’s group succeeded in helping them address long standing physical and mental health challenges. For some it was the first time they had ever admitted to such problems. The group’s effect, was thought to be so valuable that local GPs actually began to `socially prescribe' the group for their patients." Rev. Kathleen Loughlin, Community Mental Health Chaplain, Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Trust
All of Salford Council's £31million cuts are set to be ratified by the full council next Wednesday 25th February. Salford Against The Cuts has called a lobby of councillors outside the Civic Centre from 8:30am.
"Yet again Salford City Council is preparing to shrink public services in the city at the behest of the ConDem government" it states "With £31million cuts to its budget for 2015/16, and even deeper cuts to come in 2016/17, there appear to be no depths to which the council will not sink in their willingness to do the ConDem's bidding.
Across the country increasing numbers of Labour councillors are realising that this is no way forward, and are making a stand against cuts.
"We hope that some of Salford's councillors will also see the need to stand up to the ConDem government this year" it adds "That is why Salford against the Cuts is holding a lobby of the Council's Labour group and the full council which sets the budget. In these lobbies we will be joined by Salford City UNISON's members fighting for jobs and services, along with service users and carers."
Lobby of Full Council
Wednesday 25th February, from 8.30am
Swinton Civic Centre, Chorley Road
Lobby of Labour Group
Monday 23rd February, 5pm
Swinton Civic Centre
* See also previous Salford Star article - The £58million Cuts Questions That Salford Council Needs To Answer - click here
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