Bosses of a charity which provides carer breaks for South Cheshire families, has slammed Cheshire East Council for scrapping their funding.
The Neuromuscular Centre is to lose its annual grant of up to £25,000 – which amounts to less than half the £58,000 claimed by Cheshire East councillors in travel expenses alone in 2016-17.
And today the NMC director accused the authority of “ignoring the human cost” to save a small sum, just weeks after announcing a massive 5.99% hike in Council Tax rates.
Matthew Lanham, director of the Neuromuscular Centre in Winsford which serves hundreds of Crewe and Nantwich families, said: “We won’t be able to provide the thousands of breaks for Cheshire East carers that we have done in the past.
“It really is an absolutely ridiculous decision, because the council hasn’t really saved any substantial amount of money.
“They appear to have prioritised making a small saving over the human cost of not supporting carers properly.”
The Neuromuscular Centre offers help and support to those affected by muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular conditions.
These types of long-term progressive conditions lead to a high level of disability and can be very difficult for patients and their families to cope with.
The funding from Cheshire East Council enabled NMC to provide breaks for carers who look after people with a neuromuscular condition.
Mr Lanham added: “We offer a highly specialist physiotherapy service, training and employment for people with muscular dystrophy.
“We also support the whole family, including the carers of people who have the condition.
“We help hundreds of people to have a break from what can often be a very tiring and arduous caring role.
“I know that people commonly say we are an absolute lifeline.”
Cheshire East Council started funding the NMC in 2010 and have provided them between £10,000 and £25,000.
This grant is an equivalent of just £2.50 per individual carer break.
According to Mr Lanham, the authority has chosen to support an organisation in Rochdale nearly 60 miles away instead.
“The new contractor knows nothing about neuromuscular conditions and the specific needs of those who care for someone with a neuromuscular condition.
“It feels like they just wanted to send out a very clear message that they don’t want to support local charities.
“The impact for individuals will be many and various, and in some extreme cases people will have to give up work.”
We have contacted Cheshire East Council for a comment and are awaiting a reply.
(pic courtesy of Google maps)
Hardly surprising in this climate of cuts to the council budget.
Awful. Shame on you Cheshire East.
Absolutely disgusting cheshire east need to go out and ask service users what they need. No support whatsoever. Shame on them
This is desperately sad- and very poignant in light of the comparison in costs against the travel expenses claimed by the Cheshire East Councillors. This surely needs to be highlighted on a wider spectrum. The support provided by the NMC to service users/carers and families is absolutely priceless and world class.
This is an outrageous decision. No logic at all. The council should be supporting this local charity that wins national prizes for quality of care and adds value to every pound and penny of public funding it gets. Shame on you Cheshire East.