Over twelve months, from July 2017 to June 2018, Salford Healthy Communities registered 66 team members, 3,168 volunteer hours and has talked to and helped thousands of Salford residents to improve their health. The team has carried out cancer conversations, blood pressure readings, and referrals to primary and secondary care, absolutely smashing every target set for them by Salford City Council.
While the city has some of the worst health statistics in the country, these award-winning volunteers go out into the community, setting up stalls at places like Pendleton Gateway, Eccles Library, supermarkets, parks and coffee shops, urging people to stop themselves getting ill. Letters through the door from doctors might not have an impact but a friendly health chat and check up from someone on their wavelength does make a difference.
"We've saved a few people's lives, like they've found breast cancer and lived from what we've told them to do and got them to breast screening; we've checked people's blood pressure and saved a few from having strokes as it was sky high, and we've also got people to change their lifestyles and just live longer" explains volunteer Angela Harris "And that's what we try and do."
Despite the group's success, Salford City Council is proposing to cease the Salford Healthy Communities contract, managed by Unique Improvements, at the end of March, as part of cuts to the Public Health budget to save £250,000. The company, Salford based and not for profit, was originally on a three year contract to deliver the service, with a one year extension which is about to expire...
...But, apparently, a 'cease' letter has been sent out before the end of any consultation, and the company has had no part in contributing to any Impact Equality Assessment, which must be performed before any decision to disinvest. As a result of the cut, three Salford residents and two Greater Manchester residents will be made redundant, while volunteers, who have built up expertise and a rapport with the community, say they are being 'chucked in the bin' by Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett...
"I told the Mayor online that if he gives us a small budget we can keep on doing what we're doing, so it doesn't cost them more for that person to go to the hospital and get treatment" says Angela "I think we've saved them a lot of money over the years and we're very annoyed how he's just chucked us in the bin in a way – we don't matter, 'Bye, bye'...
"He's not even had the decency to come and talk to us and say 'This is what we're doing'; that wouldn't have killed him would it, to come and talk to us, but we've not even met him and that's wrong" she adds "I would have told somebody if something was going on, I wouldn't ignore them and just send an email saying 'You're finished'. Alright, he's given an extension but he could have extended it more, he's got to give a reasonable explanation why he just stops the money and it all closes. That's a joke. It's rubbish."
The Council might argue (no-one from the Council talks to the Salford Star) that other teams could be doing similar work, but Angela insists that their service is the best, borne out by the incredible amount of people with whom they communicate, over ten thousand last year alone...
"Other teams do not have the empathy to work with other people as much as we do, ask everyone around the Pendleton Gateway...we're known by our names, not our company – it's Angela, Barry or whoever..."
Indeed, fellow volunteer Barry Owen Nunney, who has worked on the project for two and a half years, echoes the sentiments... "We do blood pressure checks, talk to people about their health and various different cancers, and most of my colleagues and myself are also cancer champions" he explains.
"I do it because I like to give something back to Salford and make a difference" he adds "And we're not aware of anything set up to replace us. I think they need to pull their socks up, think about what services are actually needed and how many of those services are actually useful.
"Some people will say 'We provide this, this and this', but when it comes to the crunch they're not, they're not filling out all the evidence or producing anything; they're just sat twiddling their thumbs and occasionally might ask somebody if they want help" he adds "We do it because we care, we wouldn't be doing it otherwise."
Another outcome of the project is the impact it has on the lives of the volunteers themselves...
"I volunteer to help people but it also helps me" says Angela "It gets me up in the morning, gets me out of the house, not lying on the settee watching Jeremy Kyle all afternoon. I want to get out and keep myself going, so this keeps me alive.
"If this shuts I'll be fed up and depressed to be honest because I've done it for so many years it's become a ritual in my life" she adds "I'm good at talking to people, it's what I do and what I'm good at, and it will upset me for it to close. That's why we're trying to get people to sign a petition to stop it happening."
The volunteers currently have a paper petition which is available to sign on its stall at Pendleton Gateway every Monday and Thursday 1pm-3pm, and are setting up an online petition.
For more details of the work of Salford Healthy Communities/Unique Improvements – click here
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