RESIDENTS walked out of a public meeting after the decision was made to axe an Isle of Wight community service used by 600 people.

More than 45 people attended the meeting, where the Isle of Wight Council cabinet voted unanimously to axe the Local Area Coordinator (LAC) service. The LACs support people in the community and aim to prevent the need for further adult social care intervention.

Residents questioned cabinet members, with many asking the decision be put on hold until further consultation.

Clare Griffin, from Freshwater, said: “Why has there been no public consultation on the proposal?”

Isle of Wight County Press:

More than 45 residents attended the meeting.

A consultation by Southampton Solent University revealed for every pound spent on the LAC service, the council saves £4.30.

Speaking after the decision, Cllr Gill Kennett, chair of Freshwater Parish Council, said: “It’s not cashable savings, I know, but if you could see what they do in our local community, I can’t think how anybody would want to get rid of this service.”

However, Cllr Clare Mosdell, cabinet member for adult social care, said the study was only based on 21 people.

She said the public health budget could not sustain the cost of the service — at just over half a million pounds each year.

Cllr Mosdell said she aknowledged the comments made by the  scrutiny committee  — which recommended the decision be delayed for a year — but added: “We are not in a position to delay this for a year as the problem we have is immediate, and I cannot and will not have clinically unsafe services for the Island population.”

Isle of Wight County Press:

The money saved from the cuts would be put into other services, including sexual health and the drug and alcohol service, she said.

Scrutiny also questioned whether the licence could be tweaked, to make it more flexible to the Island.

Responding, Cllr Mosdell said: “The comments we can tweak the licence have only been reported to the press, and have made me seriously question what benefit do we get from paying that licensing and being part of that network?”

Community builders will be put into Ryde and Freshwater, and an expansion of the council’s Living Well scheme, will replace the LAC service.

To see more of the reaction to the decision, watch the video above.