A new era for health and care in Bury

NHS leaders in Bury are preparing for new ways of providing top-class health and care services for the people they serve from tomorrow (Friday 1 July).

The way health services are bought and planned on behalf of Bury are changing nationally in line with the new Health and Care Act 2022 which aims to improve joined-up care for people who rely on a number of different services at the same time.

As part of this, a new NHS organisation is being formed called NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care.

This organisation brings together staff from all 10 Greater Manchester clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) – including Bury – as well as Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and Greater Manchester Shared Services, which will all disband on 1 July.

It will be at the heart of a wider partnership called Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership which involves all the different organisations that support the health and social care of residents across the city region. These include NHS organisations, councils, voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) colleagues and other key partners.

It also means there will be a local integrated care partnership in each of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs that brings the same partners together within the borough to ensure Bury residents get the best possible services.

The partnership will help organisations work better with the public to keep everyone healthier; plan and deliver health services more effectively; make sure everyone is treated equally and fairly; help the NHS become as efficient as possible, and also help it contribute to the wider economy.

Local residents and patients will not see any immediate changes: they will continue to access GPs, hospitals and community care services as currently.

Local GP Dr Cathy Fines, outgoing chairperson of NHS Bury CCG, said: “We have achieved a lot over the past nine years and we will ensure this strong legacy is taken into the new NHS organisation and will continue to integrate care locally through the Bury Integrated Care Partnership.

“Our aim is healthier lives and better health and social care services for all our residents across Bury and we will work closely with our public in order to do this. The GP practices and primary care networks across our borough will continue to form the cornerstone of local health and care in Bury.

“We have achieved a lot as a CCG and we pledge to continue building on this work as we move into this exciting new phase.”

Bury CCG’s top achievements include:

• GP extended hours piloted in Radcliffe, one of just six areas in GM to improve access to GP services seven days a week (Nov ‘13)
• £13m through the Better care Fund invested to join up and personalise effective services, in partnership with Bury Council (March ‘15)
• Bury becomes first in the country to make GP practices ‘dementia friendly’ places (Aug ‘15)
• £2m to transform emotional health and wellbeing services for young people (Jan ‘16)
• Sharing health records across doctors, nurses and social carers (Dec ‘16)
• Creation of an LCO with Bury Council to formally bring together services.
• Doctors and teams deliver 200,000 Covid jabs in just 10 months (Oct ‘21)
• Using £19m through the GM Devolution Deal to integrate and improve services, creating five Integrated Neighbourhood Teams.

The new Bury ICP will be led by Geoff Little, who is already the chief accountable officer for Bury CCG as well as the chief executive of Bury Council.

As part of the changes from 1 July, users of the CCG's website will be redirected to Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership’s new website which will offer more information on the aims and new ways of working for health and care in the city region. Patients will still be able to access information and help about their local services.

Clinical commissioning groups were/are NHS organisations set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 following the 2010 White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ which stated the Government’s desire to create a health and care system that has the patient’s needs at its heart.

The 10 Greater Manchester CCGs were formed between 2012 and 2013 and replaced primary care trusts (PCTs). They were led by GPs and clinicians whose experience in patient care helped to develop and deliver effective services for the public.

Sir Richard Leese, chairperson of NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care, said: “This is a significant step forward for how we ensure the people we serve across the whole of Greater Manchester get equal access to the best possible health and care services.

“Thanks to the devolution arrangements given to our city region, we have already built a strong foundation of true partnership working and our teams will be no strangers to working together for the benefit of our people.

“Our aims for the next few months will be ensure the integration of our neighbourhood teams, improve mental health services, support our GP practices, ensure people have access to urgent and emergency care, and reduce inequalities.

“These are just some of the things which we in the NHS, and our partners, do to help all of us live the best lives we can.”

Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership is one of 42 integrated care systems being established across England on a statutory basis on July 1 following recommendations from NHS England and NHS Improvement and Royal Assent of the Health and Care Act (2022).

ENDS

Press release issued: 30 June 2022.

Notes to editors:

Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership is the name of the city region’s integrated care system and will replace Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.

The partnership includes NHS organisations, councils, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, VCSE colleagues and others, all working together to support people’s health and care.

NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care is the name of the new statutory NHS organisation, which will be live from 1 July 2022. It will be responsible for allocation of, and accounting for, NHS resources.

Mark Fisher CBE is the new Chief Executive designate. The organisation will be overseen by an NHS GM Integrated Care Board, with Sir Richard Leese as Chair designate.

All staff currently employed by the 10 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP) and Greater Manchester Shared Services (GMSS) will transfer to NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care on 1 July.