There aren’t that many things that the council does that can save lives, but the GP referral scheme was one of them. And the Tories have now scrapped it.

In their wisdom, the Tories have ended a scheme where doctors could prescribe exercise to patients who are suffering from, for example, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, etc. This was a tremendously important scheme and I’ve already had a number of people contact me to complain about it’s demise.

1500 people since 1998 have been referred to the WLDC Life Matters. This is a massive number of people. The figures show that 200 people a year were referred, with many more on a waiting list. This isn’t a scheme that should have been scrapped, it should have been expanded and improved in partnership with the PCT and others in the District
The life matters scheme ran in Skelmersdale, Ormskirk, Burscough and North Meols. Patients would have an initial consultation and then were given exercise programme tailored to their individual needs. It was introducing the idea of an active, healthy lifestyle to thousands in the District.

What the Council has actually done is get rid of the “GP Referral Officer” post who was the link between the GP’s, the council, other agencies and the community. It’s not just a liaison post. The officers’s work led directly to the introduction of “health walks” with the countryside rangers and the “nifty 50’s clubs” in sports centres around the district.

Instead of being up-front about it, the Tories hid this away on the night of the budget and it didn’t emerge until we asked for the details. I suppose they hoped that it would go unnoticed, but there are many people out there who have benefitted from this service and it’s wrong to deny it to others.