Don’t Privatise Mental Health Care for our Most Vulnerable Children

Protect Trafford Children’s Health

Trafford Council (and Pennine Care) are trying to keep their plans for the most vulnerable children in the borough, away from Trafford residents.

 

As part of their new, vamped, Children’s Services, they plan to remove all clinical psychology support from the “Keep Families Together and Fostering Plus” (KFT & F+) teams. The highly expert, clinical psychology team, who work for Pennine Care NHS Trust, will be made redundant. They will be “substituted” by private “lifestyle mentoring” firms.

 Join the protest at Trafford Town Hall Wed 23rd at 6.00pm

The Council acknowledges that 93% of the children who use the service “need support arising from mental health, domestic abuse or substance misuse. 63% of ..these children have two of these issues present…”. Yet they are cutting the expert, clinical help for our Trafford children and the social care staff who support them. (Instead, they are getting the children to join “boxing classes”!)

 

And don’t let Trafford Council cut the pay of Trafford workers! All workers in the Council are being forced to take 1½ days leave, without pay. For people on the edge, e.g. bringing up children on low pay – this is a severe cut – and no holiday!

………

The Health Scrutiny Committee of Trafford Council have been asked why this isn’t part of Trafford’s “consultation” on their cuts. This question will also be put to Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group, to see why they have stopped commissioning this expert support from Pennine Care NHS Trust.

It is clearly a privatisation of the psychological support, directly to the young clients and to the management and staff of the Children’s Services (in the new, Keeping Families Together and Fostering Plus services) and a substitution of a less expert, but possibly cheaper service.