Greater Manchester to continue transformation

In its prospectus for the next five years, the partnership said it had made progress in addressing the forecast deficit of £2bn by 2020/21. The deficit was forecast when the devolved organisation was set up in 2016.

Its latest modelling predicts a £309m deficit by 2020/21, but this does not include new allocations from the provider sustainability fund and other sources of funding. The partnership said it would achieve financial balance if the Greater Manchester devolved area receives its fair share of this additional funding. 

Around £6bn is spent each year on health and social care in Greater Manchester.

The prospectus added: ‘We must continue to transform to keep up with demographic, non-demographic and inflation cost pressures. Greater Manchester will need ongoing transformation funding, as we did when devolution began, although we accept this will be on a smaller scale now we have completed most of our structural transformation.’

The partnership said its prospectus, Taking charge: the next five years, paints a ‘compelling picture’ of the creation of a population health system that emphasises the importance of economic growth and a healthy populace playing a full role in local prosperity.

Among Greater Manchester’s successes, the report said it had reduced smoking rates faster than the national average; supported 3,200 long-term unemployed people with health conditions back into work; and raised cancer survival rates to almost the national average.

Jon Rouse (pictured), chief officer of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: ‘We have put in place the building blocks to achieve the biggest and fastest improvement to the health of our citizens. We have changed the way health and social care works so that teams work better together now and we have invested in technology, services and ways of working.

‘We know that health inequalities remain and there is much to do. This prospectus sets out how we will build on what we have achieved already and our unique approach to meeting those challenges.’

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority published another document, setting out its policy to pull together all aspects of public services, including housing, education and employment. It said all impacted on the population’s health.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said: ’This is by far the most ambitious development of public services happening in England, with health at its heart. We will invest power in our local teams to be creative and think differently, to have the freedom to work in a different way and support people as individuals, not numbers.

‘We don’t want to talk about patients, clients, service users and customers – our public sector silos - we want to use people's names. This Greater Manchester model is a powerful collective statement about our shared ambition.’