Two popular heart care groups in Salford have been forced to close after the charity running them was served with a £26,000 funding cut.
Langworthy and Walkden healthy heart clubs have been shut down through lack of funds, after cuts-hit Salford council decided not to award the group funding.
Salford Heart Care (SHC) has been operating in Salford for over 28 years and in 2014 was awarded the Queen’s Voluntary Award for the quality of its service.
Dubbed the ‘volunteer’s MBE’, the award recognises the best groups in the country, which could not run if it were not for the dedication and time given by kind-hearted volunteers.
Watch: Top Salford elderly group nominated for ‘volunteer’s MBE’
But Salford City Council, which looks after public health programmes since responsibility was switched back to local authorities last year, has decided to end SHC’s contract to provide CVD, or cariovascular disease rehabilitation.
The contract is awarded annually and has been renewed every year since 2008.
SHC has between four and five hundred members at its weekly groups in Little Hulton, Eccles, Irlam and Cadishead, Langworthy, Weaste and Walkden.
Mainly 50 or over, members are brought together to help support one another in times of difficult diagnosis through befriending, dance classes, reiki and nature walks – vital for beating isolation, making friends and cruicially, saving money for the health service through better management of their condition.
It is understood the council is shortly due to award a large contract worth around £300,000 to one company to provide support for all long-term health conditions in Salford, including diabetes, COPD and heart disease.
In May 2014 the system changed to one where groups had to become ‘approved providers’ and bid online for contracts.
Targeting a younger generation and covering the whole city are thought to be the council’s main priorities in awarding the contract, something Salford Heart Care has not been able to demonstrate.
Firms understood to be in the ring are social enterprise Unlimited Potential and Being Well Salford.
Langworthy councillor John Warmisham told SalfordOnline.com health was ‘a top priority’ in his ward and he was concerned to see the group close.
He has now ordered an investigation of the decision to end SHC’s contract to see if the money to run the popular groups can be found anywhere else in the council budget.
As a whole the council faces savage in-year government cuts putting scores of popular groups at serious risk.
A social impact review found the charity provides £4.14 of social value for every £1 it receives in funding.
Administrator Serena Rice told SalfordOnline.com: “It was a shock not to receive the contract to be honest, especially after all the work we’ve done over the years to prevent and manage long-term conditions.
“We know there have been severe cutbacks to public health but this funding cut will have a massive impact on our members and volunteers.
“This will hurt the people who need us most. We’ve got members with physical and learning disabilities who for some of them, our weekly get-togethers are the only time they leave the house.
“It’s taken us years to build these support networks, and if they think they can just throw money at the problem they’re absolutely wrong.”
David Herne, Director of Public Health at Salford City Council, said: “We are grateful for the excellent work Salford Heart Care has done over the years with people who have experienced heart problems and hope they can secure alternative funding.
“As a council we are experiencing financial challenges and have to redesign services to suit the limited budgets we have. We cannot provide everything we have in the past and sadly that means difficult decisions.”
