Closure of South Yorkshire health and disability support service will have devastating impact on the vulnerable, says UNISON
Thousands of vulnerable people in Sheffield, including those with learning disabilities, are to lose a vital support service, says UNISON.
Staff at the Sheffield Case Register are to lose their jobs following an announcement by Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust that Sheffield City Council will not be recommissioning the service.
UNISON says the council has still to explain fully the reason for the closure that’s planned for the end of this month.
Staff work with more than 4,000 vulnerable children and adults, helping them access benefits so they can live independently.
They also enable users to obtain important health resources like bowel cancer screening, says UNISON.
A council report into the closure highlighted how the service increased take up of these screenings by nearly a third (32%) among those with learning disabilities during an NHS England trial in 2021.
The same report suggests people helped by the Sheffield Case Register have been able to access health services they wouldn’t otherwise have known about, says UNISON.
UNISON Sheffield community health assistant branch secretary Julie Marsland said: “It’s unclear what the rationale is for closing an essential service that helps people across the city.
“Not only are there concerns for the staff facing redundancy but there are also wider and longer-term health implications for those relying on the service.
“The council must reverse this decision immediately and secure the financial future of this important scheme.”
Notes to editors:
– No details have yet been given about the number of redundancies. UNISON has been told there are no compulsory redundancy plans and the health trust will initially seek to redeploy staff.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Julie Marsland M: 07708 322887
Charlie Carruth M: 07904 343303 E: c.carruth@unison.co.uk
