Macc attended Manchester City Council’s January’s Health Scrutiny Committee meeting. This meeting focused on emergency issues of sickness within communities, the pressure on hospitals, primary care, and the Ambulance Service and ongoing strike action. Manchester has had a severe flu season (500 people admitted to hospital across Manchester with flu during December) and cases of Covid are rising. Before Christmas, Strep A was high amongst children in Manchester with all critical beds being full. Other hospitals across the region helped to provide beds for children from Manchester. Strike action is ongoing in Manchester. The advice is to use 999 if you are experiencing a medical or mental health emergency with all life threatening cases being prioritised. If the issue is not life threatening, contact 111 or use the website if possible. Families with small children and anyone who doesn’t have digital access should use 999. All of the frontline NHS services will be impacted by the ongoing strike action, which will mean delays with ambulance times, availability and 111 waiting times.
The meeting discussed a report on Adult Social Care Assurance, which explained that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) now has new powers to regulate local authority delivery of care functions. Manchester City Council has been involved in an assessment pilot, which detailed their good working relationships with the VCSE sector. Winter Discharge monies are being used to expand working arrangements with Care and Repair, Age UK and the Royal Voluntary Service, which they are keen to continue as these VCSE organisations help people to stay in their own home and link with community services. Cllr Richards stated that Manchester VCSE sector’s response and utilisation during Covid was a real strength and asked if there was any more resource, financial or other, which could be used to support the VCSE sector organisations. Bernie Enright, Executive Director, Adult Social Services, responded by saying that they are aware “that funding is a real issue, and it’s not just short term funding but we need to invest in the (VCSE) sector”. The meeting confirmed that the biggest issue currently within social care is staff recruitment and retention. Currently, they provide stay calls, feedback from exit interviews and health and wellbeing calls on a Friday to check on staff wellbeing and support and pay the Real Living Wage.
The other reports discussed were the Planning for Protection Liberty Safeguards Implementation, which outlined proposed new safeguards as part of the Mental Health Act 2019, including reducing the age of access from 18 years old to 16 years old and allowing people from all community settings to access support, not just people in hospitals or in 24 hour care. These changes are likely to be introduced likely between October 2023 and April 2024. The independent advocacy hub is commissioned to Gaddum.
The final report was on health infrastructure development in Manchester, which detailed key developments and changes to the Wythenshawe Hospital site, the North Manchester Strategy, which includes North Manchester General Hospital, Park House and Victoria North. This work is focused on social value and implementing the North Manchester Social Benefit framework, which focuses on education, skills and training, health and wellbeing, community resilience, digital and zero carbon by 2038.
You can access the recording of the January Health Scrutiny Committee meeting by accessing the following link here: https://vimeo.com/event/2710746. To read the reports and meeting papers visit https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=142. The next Health Scrutiny Committee Meeting will be held on 8 February at 10am at in the Council Antechamber, Level 2, Manchester Town Hall Extension but will also be live streamed and recorded.