A CHARITY which helps Muscular Dystrophy sufferers is concerned vital services for patients could be axed as health chiefs look to make cuts.

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) picks up the bill for two specialist posts at the John Radcliffe Hospital, but says it can no longer afford it.

And a question mark hangs over the service after the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust and the South Central Strategic Health Authority admitted it was under review.

The charity said it had invested £100,000 a year at the Oxford Muscle and Nerve Centre to provide help such as physiotherapy to sufferers of the illness for the last five years.

But from March 31 next year the money will stop – and a review is being carried out to see if the NHS can continue the service without the charity’s support.

The charity claims it was told earlier this month that funding was ‘not a priority’ during a meeting with a consultant.

Both the South Central Strategic Health Authority and Oxfordshire PCT insist people with the illness are a priority.

Robert Meadowcroft, director of policy and campaigns at the MDC, stressed the importance of the service.

He said: “The MDC has invested half a million pounds in essential clinical posts in the South Central NHS region over the last five years.

“We have now given formal notice that we will no longer be able to do this after March.

“We are extremely concerned that the NHS has told us that this is simply not a priority for them.“ Patients travel from nine counties to the hospital – the charity says the nearest similar services are in Nottingham and Cheshire.

James Lewis, from Farmoor, was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy when he was 15.

Mr Lewis, 22, who works in the fundraising office of Oxford hospice Helen and Douglas House, says he spends about 12 hours a day in his wheelchair, which because of the constant pressure, can become very uncomfortable.

His mother Lynn said the family currently paid for his physiotherapy privately, but she stressed the importance of regular treatment for sufferers of MD.

Of the charity-funded service, she said: “The posts are already very overstretched.

“They serve far too wider an area.”

Oxfordshire PCT said the full review of neuromuscular services was ongoing.

Philippa Muir, head of specialist commissioning and clinical networks, added: “The PCT is very grateful for the funding from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign that has helped improve the lives of people living with the disease.

“The review will enable us to see which services are working well and providing the right care for patients, as well as showing areas for improvement.

“Part of this review will ensure appropriate services are in place to look after people with neurological conditions in the years to come.”

The South Central Strategic Health Authority’s director of long term conditions, Nadia Chambers, said: “In light of the Muscular Dystrophy Society announcement to withdraw funding of these two posts, we are working with colleagues in the South Central Specialist Commissioning Group and the Neurological Alliance, to determine what commissioning options might exist.

“A final decision on this will be made later this financial year.”

The review comes after it was revealed that the county’s main hospitals were making a £44m money-saving drive.

A total of 370 jobs are set to go across the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust over the next year, with possible compulsory redundancies at the Horton Hospital, Banbury.