Ken Livingstone to speak at protest rally over Lewisham child
mental health cuts
9 November 2011
Labour London mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone will speak at a
rally on 24 November to protest at the continuing cuts to frontline
child mental health services in Lewisham, South London.
Already this financial year there have been nearly £500,000 in
cuts – with more expected in the next two years. Other cuts to
children and young people's services in Lewisham have included the
ending of the Connexions service which provides advice on
employment issues for 16-to-19 year olds.
Ken Livingstone will be one of the speakers at The No Cuts
Cabaret in Lewisham – a borough where a reported 20 per cent of
children live in poverty – between 7.00pm- 9.00pm Thursday 24
November.
Members of Unite, the largest union in the country, and Unison
are hosting the event which will include musical performances and
political satire at the Rivoli Ballroom, 350 Brockley Road, Crofton
Park.
Unite regional officer Richard Munn said: ”A Save the Children
study revealed that one in five children in Lewisham live in
poverty which itself brings adverse impacts on child mental health.
Early intervention in childhood helps prevent longstanding problems
in adulthood.
”The evening we are staging is aimed at bringing the whole
community together to highlight these pernicious cuts and give a
morale boost for the campaigners in the fight to save even more
services under threat.”
Cuts by South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and Lewisham borough
council have already totalled almost £500,000 this financial year
(20011/2012) for Lewisham Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services (CAMHS), which is based at Kaleidoscope, Lewisham Park and
Mercia Grove.
The axe followed budget reductions from Lewisham borough council
and NHS Lewisham (formerly Lewisham Primary Care Trust). More
cuts, as yet unspecified, are planned in the next two years.
Services affected have included the schools’ service, CAMHS
social workers, forensic services, refugee and asylum seekers, and
looked after children. A number of longstanding and very
experienced staff have been forced to leave the service.
This was a reduction of almost 25 per cent of the entire service
and will lead to fewer frontline workers and longer waiting lists
for children and young people. This was an essential service which
was commended in various government inspections.
ENDS
Notes to news editors:
For further information please contact Richard Munn on 07739
078343 and/or Unite communications officer Shaun Noble on 07768
693940
