A FINAL plea to save a service that has proved a lifeline to thousands of unpaid carers across Craven has been ignored by health chiefs at the eleventh hour.

Support services provided by The Carers' Resource are to be withdrawn following a "devastating" final refusal of funding by Craven, Harrogate and Rural District Primary Care Trust.

Despite pleas from carers, backed by local MPs, councillors and health care professionals, the PCT told a crunch meeting on Tuesday that it did not intend to reverse its decision to refuse £120,000 of its £170,000,000 budget to fund seven personal carer support officers.

As a result, The Carers' Resource has had to close its doors to new referrals, and will begin to phase out the existing caseload of carers, who receive one-to-one advice and support.

Carers Resource chairman Brian Murrell said: "The outcome is a devastating blow for carers, for NHS professionals who will find their workload increasing and for our organisation. I have to wonder if the PCT is listening to real people. A compelling case in both human and financial terms has fallen on deaf ears."

Mr Murrell, his fellow trustees and director Anne Smyth will meet next week to consider how to minimise staff redundancies and how their nationally-acclaimed organisation might restore full carer support services in the future.

Mrs Smyth, who founded The Carers' Resource in 1995 and pioneered the role of specialist carer support workers, said: "My overwhelming concern is for the damage the PCT's decision will do to carers.

"I cannot conceal my dismay at the decision after our trustees and staff fought so hard to build up services which carers and professionals found special and essential.

"We did not intend our funding problem to become public. Once it did, however, few people could be unmoved by the letters from carers grateful for us helping them through the maze of services and giving them a shoulder to cry on.

"I do worry for them now. We must fight on for them as well as for our highly skilled and dedicated staff. We shall continue to provide our core information service and must see what else can be salvaged for the longer term."

Attention may now turn to Westminster where MPs can explore whether extra investment for the NHS is trickling down to fund front-line services.

The Carers' Resource has argued that personal support for carers and keeping cared-for people out of hospital would save the PCT far more than its £120,000 bid.

A PCT spokesman reiterated its support for the valuable work done by The Carers' Resource, and has agreed to a 2.5 per cent funding increase for this year.

It already provides more than £40,000 to The Carers' Resource, and its partners in North Yorkshire Social Services provide an additional £60,000.

The PCT has a set budget, and must stick to its previously agreed funding priorities. The spokesman said it was impossible to divert funds already committed to other extremely important developments in the local NHS.

These priorities are outlined in the Local Delivery Plan, which will be considered at a board meeting next Tuesday.

PCT chief executive Penny Jones said: "The Local Delivery Plan (LDP) represents the start of a significant improvement in local health services. Unfortunately, the PCT is not able to tackle all of the priorities in a single year, and we know that many outstanding issues remain to be addressed for the future, including providing more support for carers.

"It is important to stress, however, that in the current year, the PCT will be investing some £130,000 directly in organisations that support carers.

"Our colleagues in North Yorkshire Social Services provide further support of around £207,000 and also provide core funding to a range of carer organisations. Many of the core services that the PCT commissions and provides, such as our district nursing service and our community based mental health teams, also support carers."

She added: "The health care community is constantly evolving, and one of its strengths is how adaptable it is to changing needs.

"The PCT has been discussing with the whole voluntary and not-for-profit sector our joint aspiration for more integrated and better ways of working.

"There is a balance between investing in carers' support and investing in providing direct help to carers."