By Emily McKinnell
The committee first discussed the Adult Social Care Activity and Care Market Capacity Report of the Executive Director of Adult Social Services. The report focuses on adult social care performance activity, external commissioning and market capacity, and gives an update on the long-term transformation program: Better Outcomes Better Lives. The Executive Member for Health and Care commended the report, and the work of the officers involved. He also stated the greatest barrier to adult health and social care in Manchester is the complexities of the care market, and that this presents a grave challenge. It was commented by the committee that care provision for older people shouldn’t be a ‘market’, and they look forward to putting together strategic papers about how adult health and social care and the local authority can work together to move away from looking after people at the mercy of the market. The committee heard some salient points from the report before raising questions around rises in referrals from hospitals, the delegate responsibility pilot, and unpaid carers.
The committee then discussed the Mental Wellbeing Strategic Framework 2024-2029 Report of the Director of Public Health. This report provides an overview of the new Mental Wellbeing Strategic Framework for Manchester 2024- 2029. The committee raised questions regarding the importance of addressing stigma surrounding mental ill-health, and barriers to accessing some communities. It was commented that, throughout development of the framework, VCSE organisations were vital in helping the council to reach certain communities that they wouldn’t be able to reach alone. Questions were also raised around children with special educational needs and disabilities, which raised the point that CAHMS is hosted by MFT not the ICS or GMMH, creating barriers to conversations which should be addressed in collaboration with the VCSE sector.
The committee then discussed a report on the recent national measles incident. The report describes the governance arrangements and actions that have been put in place to prevent the spread of measles in Manchester and to contain any cases as they arise to minimise the risk of an outbreak.