PATIENTS in Radcliffe need to make their voices heard to ensure health and social care services stay in the town.

That was the message at Radcliffe Township Forum this week, where Doug Galvin, patient representative for the Redbank group practice, delivered an update on the Healthier Radcliffe pilot scheme.

When the project began two years ago, Radcliffe became one of the first areas in the North West to offer GP appointments seven days a week - a scheme that has since been rolled out across the borough.

However, after long-serving Radcliffe physiotherapist Andrew Kaye had his contract cancelled by the NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) last year, Mr Galvin warned that residents will have to fight to retain other services at the Primary Care Centre in Church Street West.

He said: “Radcliffe is a very high deprivation area and with that comes a lot of issues associated with health and social care.

“Healthier Radcliffe has been going on for two years now and there is no guarantee of further funding to keep that going permanently.

“We have been educating people about going to the health centre instead of to Accident and Emergency and that has resulted in an additional 18,000 appointments in the last two years.

“We have worked hard to increase the use of the health centre, which is 50 per cent under used. We have brought in breast screening, audiology, and the diabetic community team.

“I think there is a degree of complacency in thinking these services will just happen. If we don’t stand up and have a voice then there are other areas of the borough that will take that financing instead.

"We want an equal slice of the cake based on the needs of the area. People in Radcliffe die 15 years younger than those in Greenmount, who aren’t as associated with alcohol, drugs, or domestic violence."

A spokesman on behalf of Bury Council and the CCG said: "The Healthier Radcliffe project was a test (or demonstrator) site to try out new ways of working. Starting with seven-day GP access, which has since been rolled out across the whole of Bury and will continue to be available for Bury patients.

"Healthier Radcliffe also encompassed a number of schemes to test out how GPs, community, other health and social care staff, along with those working in the voluntary sector, could work together to provide more co-ordinated care and support for patients.

"These other co-ordinated care schemes are being evaluated to help inform how joined up services should look in the future. As these schemes are jointly funded by Bury Council and the CCG, this will be discussed further at the Integrated Health and Social Care Board at its meeting later this month."

Cllr Rishi Shori added: “There are very clear examples of where the people of Radcliffe have lost out, such as the physiotherapy service. Something I am concerned about it whether we are going to lose any more services.

“We should get as many things in the health centre as we possibly can, because what is going on there is fantastic. It’s very frustrating to see it underused.”