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'Ditch plans to cut health visitor workforce', urges union

2 mins read Health Social Care
Union bosses are urging Suffolk County Council to ditch plans to cut its health visiting workforce by 25 per cent as latest figures show health visitor numbers in England have hit a seven-year low.

The county, which includes health secretary Matt Hancock's constituency of West Suffolk, intends to axe 30 full-time posts, which according to Unite would be "highly damaging" for thousands of families, many of which are living in "vulnerable circumstances".

The move is in response to cuts to the council's public health grant which has been slashed by £5.47m since 2015/16.

Representatives of Unite - which includes the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association (CPHVA) - are due to meet council leaders today to ask them to reconsider the plans.

Internal council documents shown to a national newspaper reveal the council intends to make savings of around £1m by cutting its 0-19 "healthy services" budget by 10 per cent.

This could see the loss of at least 21 health visitor posts across Ipswich and coastal Suffolk, with other roles cut through redundancies and vacancies not being filled.

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