Dementia charity among dozens facing closure amid £4.5 funding cuts in Edinburgh

Dozens of charities across Edinburgh are at risk of closure as the board managing health and social care services are set to cut millions in funding.

The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB), which oversees the city’s health and social care services, is set to cut £4.5m of grants currently shared between 64 organisations.

The funding supports organisations carrying out preventative and early intervention work with vulnerable residents, including dementia sufferers, disabled young people, rape victims, those on low incomes, and new parents.

The Murrayfield Dementia Project, which supports elderly people in the community and those living with early-stage dementia, is one of the 64 services whose future is at risk.

The work is vital for people like Mary Robertson, who attends the club every Tuesday.

Mary Robertson attends the club every Tuesday. STV News

Mrs Robertson’s entire family lives in Australia, meaning the days can turn lonely fast as well as health struggles make it difficult for her to get out in winter conditions.

“I’ve got nobody here at all,” she said.

“I’ve got severe angina, so I can’t go out in the wind or the rain, so this is really a godsend to get picked up by bus, brought here, a lovely lunch and really marvellous staff.”

Running every Tuesday and Thursday, the 20 members who attend each week are entertained with quizzes and activities, as well as food and transport to and from.

The project’s closure will also result in five staff members being made redundant and eight voluntary opportunities being stopped.

David Scott, chair of the trustees of Murrayfield Dementia Project, added that the project benefits families and carers who know their loved ones are being “well looked after”.

20 members attend the project every week. STV News

Mr Scott said that although they were looking at alternative funding sources, the project would “inevitably” have to close.

“That is going to impact the members directly because they can’t come here on a Tuesday and a Thursday, and it’ll also impact our cafe on a Friday,” he said.

Stephanie-Anne Harris of Edinburgh Health Community Forum said community-led charities cannot afford to exist without long-term public funding.

“Statutory services are already stretched to the limit, so sadly, if a number of these organisations cease to exist, there are no other alternative places for these people to go, so it just puts the pressure back on the NHS, back on GP services and back on statutory service so it many ways it’s probably quite short-sighted,” she said.

A spokesperson for the EIJB said that it is collaborating with the third sector as it aims to find £51m of savings in the next financial year.

It added that the grants programme represents a small proportion of its annual spending and that it has a duty to consider every possible way to save money.