£240,000 of funding has been pulled, leading to the redundancy of 30 qualified health trainers over the next 12 months.
David Fannin, Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (LCVS) which delivered the service across Boston Borough, South Kesteven and South Holland, said,
“The Health Trainer programme has been core to the NHS and GP local delivery plans who will potentially be lost to Lincolnshire and leave a gap in local health delivery.
“The burden will be passed on to the NHS and, ultimately, GPs”
The LCVS alone supported over 580 clients who were referred by GPs across south Lincolnshire in 2014-15.
The service supports its clients in addressing issues ranging from healthy eating and weight management to stopping smoking and reducing alcohol intake, in a bespoke way over six to eight weeks of support.
The decision has come at a time when Public Health England has stressed the importance of tackling the growing diabetes crisis across the country and the “enormous cost to the public”. However, Public Health Lincolnshire has reaffirmed its intention to continue focusing on tackling liver disease and alcohol problems in the county.
The LCVS received £240,000 from the public health budget to deliver the service across Boston Borough, South Kesteven and South Holland in 2015-16.
Funding for the LCVS’s nine qualified health trainers has been pulled with immediate effect, whilst the rest of Lincolnshire will finish their support by April 2017.
by Tom McBeth (April 2016)
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