The Chancellor and the local Labour Councils have come together to agree an integrated way forward for joined up healthcare locally in Manchester.
"This is what the NHS wants to see as part of its own
future. And it's also about giving people in Manchester greater control over their
own affairs in that city, which is central to our vision of the 'northern
powerhouse'- so it's a very exciting development," he said.
The plan would see local leaders, and ultimately Greater
Manchester's new directly elected mayor, control how budgets are
allocated. The government hopes integrating health and social care services will ease
pressure on hospitals and help to improve home care services for patients who
need it.
A shadow Greater Manchester Health and Wellbeing board will be appointed,
which will work closely with existing clinical commissioning groups of GPs. The board is expected to run from April, before control of the budget is
handed over a year later.
Manchester City Council confirmed 10 local authorities, 12 clinical
commissioning groups, 14 NHS partners, NHS England and the government are in
discussions on a "ground-breaking agreement for health and social care".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-31615218
The question for us in the North East is whether we can follow Manchester's lead? If we can then much more devolution will follow but they are several years and a lot more integrated than the NE Local Authorities.
