MP meets with mental health service after shock funding cut

Richard Foord MP has today met with volunteers and users of the Devon Recovery Learning Community in Honiton and promised to demand protection for the service, after it was confirmed their funding from NHS Devon would no longer be continued.

The Devon Recovery Learning Community (DRLC) has been operating since 2013, offering courses and drop-in sessions to support people struggling with their mental health and wellbeing to people across Devon.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust is now seeing to wind-up the service, in a bid to save money, but has come under fire after the decision was taken without any prior discussion. It was only after the funding cut was confirmed that a limited consultation with service-users was announced.

This decision comes after a controversial planned cut to Devon County Council’s homelessness prevention fund was dropped following widespread opposition, with many citing the pressure this would add to services further down the line.

Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord, who represents rural East and Mid Devon, has called the planned cut ‘smoke and mirrors’, saying these services were a ‘vital frontline for those in need’ and that their impact is far reaching.

He is urging the Devon Partnership Trust to reconsider, highlighting that cutting preventative services like those offered by DRLC leads to more people needing serious treatment – costing more in the future.

Richard Foord MP said:

“Meeting with volunteers, employees and those who have used the services offered by the Devon Recovery Learning Community this morning was really eye-opening. Their impact on people’s lives is huge, with so many benefiting from the services they offer.

“One service user told me how the decision to end this support left them feeling isolated and having nowhere to go, whilst another told me how, in her words, the service ‘literally saved my life’. This shows just how important DRLC’s work is.

“The work of an organisation like this one is vital in protecting people’s health and wellbeing. We know that preventative treatment is far better – both in terms of cost and outcomes – for patients and the NHS.

“That’s why the apparent decision to cut this service is a huge disappointment. It’s supposedly being done to save money, but that would be short-sighted and yet another case of smoke and mirror cuts – saving a small amount now, only to end up paying more in the coming years.

“Services like DRLC offer hope for those otherwise at the end of their tether and the value of their work cannot be overstated. I am urging the Devon Partnership Trust to reconsider and will be writing to them to look again at how we can keep funding this critical local source of mental health support.”