A Message From The H&F Coalition Against Community Care Cuts

I received this from the Hammersmith & Fulham Coalition Against Community Care Cuts with a request to publicise their plight. Here it is:

Hammersmith & Fulham Council continues its crusade against disabled and older people in the Borough who need support; having voted in July 2007 to withdraw nearly 550 people’s services, the Council has now started yet another consultation process with a proposal to possibly introduce charging older and disabled people for essential home care services. This is going against the Conservatives’s pre-election manifesto pledge.

Kevin Caulfield, Chair of the Coalition said:

“Local residents had to demand proper consultation, and also discovered that the charging proposal appeared to be open to a legal challenge for being potentially unlawful. The Council which says that its mandate is to stop waste and cut inefficiency but not cut services, has already wasted local residents’ council tax contributions on one ill thought out consultation process. The Council is also cutting disabled people and older people’s essential support services which has nothing to do with reducing general inefficiencies but everything to do with poor decision making and a could not care less attitude towards some local residents".

Senior Managers from Bishop Creighton House, an organisation which supports older people in the borough said “We are concerned about a national trend to reduce homecare services available to older people. High quality personal and domestic care in the home is vital to ensure older people can live independent lives with dignity. Many of our clients have contributed a lot to our community in all sorts of ways; it is only right that in their older age, they have access to the kind of quality homecare that they need to stay happy and well"

Hammersmith & Fulham Coalition against Community Care Cuts (HAFCAC) represents a growing number of disabled and older residents, supported by many non-disabled residents and local organisations. We aim to challenge these cuts in services and jobs which will negatively impact on the quality of life of many local residents.

Maria Brenton Chair of Hammersmith & Fulham Action on Disability (HAFAD) said: “Older and disabled residents of the borough need to be alert to what is happening to their services and contact their councillors. These cuts will have a serious impact on those who lose their services. The savings that the Council will make through these cuts and charges are actually quite a small part of the borough’s overall budget and it could make the necessary economies in other ways if it really cared about its older and disabled residents”.

HAFCAC today launches our campaign pack to let local residents know what is happening. We are sure that when residents elected their local Conservative Councillors in 2006, cuts in vital services and making older and disabled people pay twice for services was not what local residents intended to happen.

Our campaign pack is available free by contacting the coalition. It explains the issues, tells you how to contact your locally elected officials and how to let them know what you think.

Support disabled and older people in Hammersmith & Fulham and work with us to defend our services. Join HAFCAC. It’s free!

For more information contact:

Kevin Caulfield, Chair of Hammersmith & Fulham Coalition against Community Care Cuts. Email them by clicking here or contact them using these details below:

HAFCAC: PO Box 57168, London, SW6 7UW. Telephone 020 8743 6573 . Typetalk 18001 07899752877.