MORE THAN 150 people attended a demo march to protest against the millions of pounds of cuts to social care which is claimed to have left families without vital support.
The 20-minute rally, which took place in Worcester on Saturday, was set up by Malvern resident Cathy Jackson-Read who is the founder of Stand Up 4 Care.
The county-wide campaign aims to raise awareness of what cuts to public services mean for people desperately in need.
Protesters rallied up Copenhagen Street, High Street and then Broad Street before ending in Cripplegate Park to make their feelings heard.
The launch of the Stand Up 4 Care campaign was sparked by news of a cut of a further £3.3million to public health funds announced in the Chancellor’s summer budget which has added to cuts of £50million imposed on Worcestershire County Council over the last two years.
Mrs Jackson-Read told The Observer: “I am delighted at the support the campaign has received.
“Not only from those who turned out to march on the day but also from city centre shoppers who joined in and told me of their concerns.
“The campaign has clearly tapped into concerns about the direction and funding of social care services with many people unable to march e-mailing messages of support to the campaign organisers and people living day to day with disability posting their stories and concerns on the campaign’s Facebook page.
Mrs Jackson-Read also said more events were being planned as part of the campaign including a debate event at Malvern Cube at the start of next year.
Worcester MP Robin Walker said he understood the concerns of protesters.
“I can understand their concerns because of the ever-increasing demand for social care and NHS services,” he said.
“But I think the most important thing is to continue to increase investment in our NHS and we continue to provide high quality social care and we can only do those things if we have the strong economy that will pay for them.
“This Government is putting an extra £10billion into the NHS more than the inflation increase every year and that is helping to deliver the essential services for people suffering long term conditions.”
