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Newsletter

September 2020

 

Achievements document

Looking back over seven years of clinically-led success

 

In this month’s newsletter, we introduce ‘Listening to the clinical voice: Our health and care achievements 2013-2020’, a document which highlights the difference we have made for patients over the last seven years.
 
Looking back, we have great pride in what our teams have achieved, with our hard-working and innovative clinical leads and advisors always at the centre of the improvements.
 
This alliance of clinicians and our support teams also played an important role this year with the arrival of Covid-19, showing great agility and professionalism, moving swiftly from strategic to operational roles.
 
As we wait and see how the pandemic develops over the autumn and winter, we remain confident that whatever challenges lie ahead, the SCNs will be ready to support our health and care system to provide improved services for our population.
 
Elsewhere in this month’s newsletter, we have some great news about the reduction in the number of pregnant mothers smoking, an update on how we are training GP practices to help diabetes patients register and get information from our online platform Diabetes My Way, and details of how our Children and Young People Network is supporting the paediatric system.

 

Best wishes 

Julie Cheetham - Director 

Dr Peter Elton - Clinical Director 

Julie Cheetham and Peter Elton
Top 10 achievements

New document highlights need for clinical voice

A new document has been compiled which highlights the work of the Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire Strategic Clinical Networks (GMEC SCNs) from 2013-2020.
 
Called ‘Listening to the clinical voice: Our health and care achievements 2013-2020’, the report takes a look back at how our clinical leads have helped shape improvements which have improved the lives of thousands of people living in Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire.
 
The report takes a look at each network, explaining how our life course approach has seen sustainable improvements from maternity to children to end of life care, with many long-term conditions tackled in between.
 
There is also a chapter on our response to Covid-19, explaining how we have supported the health and care system in Greater Manchester, including helping establish the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West at Manchester Central with our clinical expertise, coordinating education for palliative and end of life care staff and maintaining access for coronary care patients to procedures and surgery.
 
Professor Alistair Burns, National Clinical Director for Dementia and Older People’s Mental Health, NHS England and NHS Improvement, writes in his foreword for document: “I have seen at first hand the crucial role that the Strategic Clinical Networks have played, providing a platform for continuous improvement and reducing unwarranted variation across health systems.”
 
Julie Cheetham, GMEC SCNs’ director, said: “Our vision statement is ‘for the health and wellbeing of local people, and the care they receive, to be comparable with the best in the world’ and this document shows how our clinical leads and support teams are showing innovation and professionalism as they strive to achieve this.
 
“We are very proud of our achievements and will continue to support and improve the health and care system with our clinical voice, starting with the challenging next few months.”

Photo above: a glimpse of the new document, listing the GMEC SCNs' top 10 achievements.

 
  Read ‘Listening to the clinical voice: Our health and care achievements 2013-2020’ 
 

Maternity Network 

Mum and new born

Latest statistics show that smoking among pregnant women is continuing to fall in Greater Manchester.  

The Smokefree Pregnancy Programme is an important part of the Saving Babies’ Lives programme, the latter led by the SCNs, and latest ‘smoking at the time of delivery’ (SATOD) data shows the second largest reduction to date.  

Statistics show that for quarter 1, 2020/21, numbers have fallen from 10.7% to 10.1% 

Here are the latest statistics for Greater Manchester:  

  • This quarter GM has reduced by the second largest amount to date (from 10.7% to 10.1% Q14 19/20) and a fall from 11.4 in Q1 the previous year. For those providers participating in delivering the Smokefree Programme the rate is 9.7%, sustaining a reduction just below England at 9.8% 
  • We have seen the second smallest gap with England (England 9.8%, GM 10.1%). 
  • Rochdale, Oldham, Stockport, Tameside and Wigan have seen percentages decrease 
  • The biggest drop was in Tameside – which went from 13.3% to 10.7% 
  • Trafford and Manchester have remained the same 
  • Bolton, Bury and Salford reported higher SATOD rates this quarter 
  • Salford (9.6%), Stockport (7.4%), Trafford (4.9%) and Manchester (8.5%) reported lower SATOD than England (9.8%) 

Jane Coyne, Strategic Lead for the Making Smoking History programme, works for the population health team at the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSC Partnership), and collaborates with the SCNs’ Maternity Network on the Smokefree Pregnancy Programme.

She said: “Smoking remains the single biggest modifiable risk factor and is a major cause of ill health for both mother and baby. It significantly increases the risk of potentially serious complications, such as miscarriage, stillbirth and low birth weight. 

“It is so exciting to see the beginning of declines in the smoking at the time of delivery rates across Greater Manchester.  

“We are beginning to reduce the harms from smoking by ensuring we have midwives delivering essential conversations and making rapid referrals into maternity-led stop smoking services who will offer immediate appointments and pharmacotherapy. 

“This is increasing the number of pregnant smokers who engage with the specialist teams alongside an evidence based incentive scheme to provide additional support for those who would find it hardest to quit.” 


Team news

Three members of the SCNs' team have been nominated for an award for their work with the NHS England Health and Wellbeing Programme. 

Krista Williams, Michelle Davies and Adam Wallis have been leading the virtual commom rooms part of the programme this year - an offer that provides an online space for all NHS staff to come together to reflect, share and stay well.

The NHS England Health and Wellbeing programme has been shortlisted for three awards celebrating the impact of the work supporting the health and wellbeing of people across the NHS in the 2020 Personnel Today Awards, including:
 
Excellence in Public Service HR Award
Health & Wellbeing Award
HR Impact Award

The online awards ceremony will be broadcast on Thursday, 26 November, 2020. 
 


Diabetes Network

Diabetes My Way logo

Over the past few months the Diabetes Network at the SCNs has been busy providing virtual training and information sessions to GP practice staff and healthcare professionals on the free online platform Diabetes My Way.

The team managed to reach more than 100 members of staff at 70 GP practices, explaining what the digital services are and what they need to do to help patients register for the services. 

Diabetes My Way provides information and resources to people living with the condition across Greater Manchester, including type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.

In addition, people living with type 2 diabetes can register* to access to their own GP data, including a personalised diabetes dashboard, which shows their statistics in a clear, visual way, including their latest diabetes test results (such as HbA1C and cholesterol), as well as additional apps, general information and details about local support services.

*For people to get access to their personal data through Diabetes My Way, they need to register with their GP practice for patient online services and ask their GP to enable their permissions for detailed coded record.

A guide for GP practices on how to enable records access is available online, including a video guide. Once registered for online services, patients can use their online codes from the surgery to self-register.

The platform will only link to Vision and EMIS clinical systems at the moment.

Want to know more? Visit www.diabetesmyway.nhs.uk or contact the team via email england.diabetesmyway@nhs.net with any questions or to book on to a 30 minute training session.

Diabetes My Way also offers a range of free online QISMET-accredited structured education (e-learning) courses covering type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes, and using an insulin pump.

Patients can find out more or register for a free course here.

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The Diabetes Network will also be managing the new NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme in Greater Manchester, as one of 10 national pilot sites.

The programme provides a low-calorie diet treatment for people who are overweight and living with Type 2 diabetes, helping them to improve their diabetes control, reduce diabetes-related medications and even achieve remission.

Greater Manchester has been allocated 500 places on the programme.

Eligible participants will be offered low calorie, total diet replacement products, including soups and shakes consisting of up to 900 calories a day for up to 12 weeks.

Alongside this, participants will receive support for 12 months, including help to re-introduce food after the initial 12-week period.

Group based sessions will initially be offered online in Greater Manchester to comply with social distancing guidelines, but may move to face-to-face sessions in the future. 

We'll bring you more information on this in our October newsletter. In the meantime, if you would like any further information, please email the team here

You can also find information on the ICS website. ICS is providing the programme in Greater Manchester. 

Children and Young People Network

Child

The Children and Young People Network is continuing to drive forward with its communications work with the paediatric system to support services over the coming months.   
 
The team is working with the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and other Greater Manchester hospitals to ensure young people get the best treatment and care possible while the NHS faces the dual challenge of Covid-19 and traditional winter pressures.  
 
The paediatric communications group is currently identifying where there may be gaps in information for parents to self-manage their children’s conditions at home, if appropriate, or seek medical help, and is producing a catalogue of videos which will shared on social media.  
 
The group was established in the spring, when a number of videos were produced to help parents know when they should seek medical help, following a problem early in the pandemic when ill children were not attending A&E until their conditions had worsened. It has also been working closely with the GMHSC Partnership and Public Health to support the messages to children and families during COVID 19.

The network is also continuing with a regular newsletter which combines local and national guidance and a paediatric bed management call system which provides an overview of where pressures are in the system.  


See our website for more information on all our networks.

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