Manchester City Council Health Scrutiny Committee - September 2023

The agenda for this meeting included a report focusing on the Pennine Acute Aggregation Update, which detailed some major changes to frontline health services including Dexa (bone density) scanning, Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) services, Urology and Trauma & Orthopaedics. There were also several proposed changes that would affect North Manchester residents in terms of service quality, equality, patient choice, travel and access. Discussions included ensuring that in the majority of cases, patients should receiving ongoing care in a venue close to their home. Also discussed were detailed plans to respond to the ongoing challenges of car parking at several Manchester hospital sites.  A new car park was opened on 27 September at North Manchester General Hospital. 

David Reagan, Director of Public Health in Manchester, updated the Committee that the national Covid-19 inquiry was underway and would take some years to complete. The inquiry was keen to hear about individual experiences from the pandemic. If you would like to share a story with the inquiry, or to find out about how the inquiry is developing, you can do so through the Every Story Matters website by following this link: https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/every-story-matters/. 

David Reagan, along with the Deputy Place-based Lead and the Director of Adult Social Services, also discussed the plans for the health-based approach for Winter. They discussed the existing pressures on NHS systems, statutory partners and VCSE organisations in Manchester. They also talked about pressures on A&E waiting times and the development of virtual beds through the Hospital at Home programme. Currently, there was 100-110 people in a virtual bed being treated by a doctor over the phone and community health teams which was reducing the pressure on A&E. The Winter vaccination programme was underway and had been brought forward from October to September. Covid and Flu vaccinations would be delivered to people in care homes across the city, as well as to people in vulnerable health groups and children under 16.

You can access the recording of the September Health Scrutiny Committee meeting here; https://vimeo.com/showcase/7723560/video/846625337