Primary care is the backbone of our NHS. Most of us use the NHS through primary care services and most of us are aware of the challenges we have. The way we deliver primary care must change and I hope you will agree that the Greater Manchester Primary Care Blueprint is the way to do it. This blueprint is the result of months of engagement across all four disciplines of primary care – general practice, dentistry, optometry and pharmacy – and explains what we will do to make sure our growing and ageing population can access the care they need when they need.

Written in partnership with our primary care practitioners, our voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, and other partners across our system, it is also important to acknowledge that this is in response to what the people of Greater Manchester told us mattered to them when it comes to their health and care services. Our Big Conversation last year with more than 3,000 people and 2,000 underserved communities across the region was not just a ‘tick box’ exercise, it has been – and continues to be – our steer on where we really need to focus our attention so that the people who call Greater Manchester ‘home’ are truly getting the best for a primary care system.

There’s more info on the blueprint below, along with updates on funding awarded for falls prevention, winter health campaigns and grants available to get Greater Manchester walking, which I hope you find of interest. As always, we welcome your feedback so do tell us if there’s a particular topic you want to know more about in future partnership updates via gmhscp.gm-stakeholders@nhs.net

Until next month – which is hard to believe will be our last partnership update of 2023!

Best wishes,

Paul

Paul Dennett

Chair, Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership Board

Luvjit Kandula

A pharmacist by background and fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Luvjit has a wealth of leadership experience making her ideally placed to chair the Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board, supporting the four discipline-specific boards to come to together with a unified voice for primary care in Greater Manchester.

Luvjit also chairs the Greater Manchester Community Pharmacy Provider Board and is Director of Pharmacy Transformation and Chief Officer of Greater Manchester Local Pharmacy Committee.

Luvjit has extensive experience working as a community pharmacist, having also worked in hospital pharmacy and in industry, both in the UK and abroad. She also has a voluntary role as Community Pharmacy Integration Lead for the Primary Care Pharmacy Association.

Councillor Keith Holloway

Raised in North Devon, Keith has a Masters in Operational Research (ways of using maths – especially statistics – in understanding real life messy problems). He joined a consultancy group set up by the NHS to apply OR techniques to the health services. From there, Keith moved into the NHS itself, working in Hampshire, Shropshire and finally in the North West, with his role shifting from computer modelling to mainstream NHS planning/commissioning, including close working with local authority social care, the voluntary sector and other agencies.

While always interested in politics, and the Liberals/ Liberal Democrats in particular, it was only moving to Stockport where Keith became actively involved, starting out delivering leaflets, then becoming an election agent and finally in 2011 getting elected on to Stockport Council. For 10 years Keith represented Cheadle and Gatley, but for the most recent elections with the boundary changes involved, was elected for Cheadle Hulme South and is also Stockport Council’s member of cabinet with the adult social care and health portfolio.

The Greater Manchester Primary Care Blueprint is a five-year plan for primary care across our city region and the changes that will be made to keep it sustainable for the future. It explains how GP practices, dentists, pharmacists and optometrists will work together with partners from across the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership to meet the physical and mental health needs of our citizens and communities.

Building on our Big Conversation which took place with more than 3,000 people last year, the plan is a response to what matters to people living in Greater Manchester. It aims to tackle key issues experienced and shared by the public - such as tackling the “8am rush” by investing in better phone and digital systems for GP practices - as well as supporting a 22,000 strong workforce to provide the right care at the right time.

Luvjit Kandula, chair, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board said: “This primary care blueprint is rightly ambitious in what it sets out for people living in Greater Manchester. We want people to have better and more convenient access to care and help people manage their own health.

“Demand for NHS services continues to rise and it’s vital we shape our services to meet this growth and adapt our workforce with different roles to meet people’s needs. This plan reflects both what many people have told us they want to see from their NHS and what professionals have told us needs to change. We are proud of what is working well and mindful of where we need to make improvements to people’s access and care. We are working to make this happen and are confident the public will benefit.”

Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership is to receive £117,086 for 2023/24 and £261,027 for 2024/25 from the Department of Health and Social Care’s Adult Social Care Technology Fund for work that will help to reduce the risk of falls.

The funding will allow for the further roll out of The University of Manchester’s Keep On Keep Up (KOKU) falls prevention app. Co-created with older people, the app is designed to help improve strength, balance and optimise healthy ageing – supporting residents to take control and reduce their risk of falls. The app promotes access to personalised and progressive strength and balance exercises, which are traditionally delivered face to face in community centres, but this can be costly, inaccessible for some older people and there is currently a shortage of qualified professionals. KOKU also incorporates health literacy games to raise awareness of how to improve bone health, nutrition and hydration, as well as enhancing safety in the home. So far, 500 people have benefited from the app – this is expected to increase to 1200 over the next 18 months.

Falls prevention is a key priority for Greater Manchester. Reducing the risk of falls makes serious injury and hospital admission far less likely, the benefits being a lower personal cost for the individual in terms of independence and wellbeing, but also lessening the demand and financial burden placed on health and social care services.

Levels of self-harm continue to rise amongst our young people and is a taboo subject for many, which adds to stigma and feelings of shame. We need to understand and talk about it more if we are going to provide support at the earliest opportunity and reduce the incidence of self-harm.

NHS Greater Manchester has produced information resources for young people and their parents and carers which explain why people may self-harm, how to talk about it and strategies to help young people manage their emotions before they reach a crisis, while highlighting sources of help.

• Self-harm: A Guide for Young People
• Self-Harm: A guide for parents and carers

Help is available and no young person should ever suffer alone.

People visiting Salford Royal’s emergency department are now being offered a HIV test when bloods are taken for other reasons. This testing is available for those aged 16 and over and is part of a national NHS initiative to screen for HIV in the areas where rates are highest.

Manchester and Salford have some of the highest rates in England, with more than five in 1,000 people having HIV. In Greater Manchester, more than 6,379 people are thought to be living with HIV, and an estimated 5% are unaware of their status.

HIV is a treatable condition. With early diagnosis, treatment and support, people living with HIV can lead a long and healthy life and cannot pass the virus onto others. However, most people with HIV may not have any symptoms, meaning they might be unaware that they have this condition and, if diagnosed too late, the risk of death from the illness rises by eight times.

Anyone not wishing to be tested is free to decline the offer of a test.

On Thursday, 5 October, we hosted a GM Women’s Health Strategy workshop at Stretford Public Hall in Manchester. The aim was to build on the current momentum to improve women’s health outcomes in Greater Manchester and set out our collective vision. The focus of the workshop was to:

1. look at what we need to see feature in a GM women’s health strategy
2. how we will organise ourselves (steering group and wider network)
3. establish the key issues and priorities for this very important program of work.

Speakers included Professor Manisha Kumar, NHS GM Chief Medical Officer and Co-Chair of GM Women’s Health Strategy; Sara Radcliffe, Vice Chair of Pankhurst Trust and Co-Chair of GM Women’s Health Strategy, Government Ambassador; Professor Dame Lesley Regan and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

The event was very well attended, and we had specialists from academia, clinicians, public sector bodies, GM localities and the community and voluntary sectors.

The day was a combination of presentations from key speakers and group discussions. These generated rich discussions and will help shape this area of work over the next twelve months and beyond.

If you want to find out more about this exciting workstream or get involved, email elaine.mills7@nhs.net.

As we begin to enter the colder months, it’s important to prioritise health and well-being, to be prepared for the winter bugs and illnesses, and to know where to go for the best advice, treatment, and support. That’s why NHS Greater Manchester has issued an updated Get To Know Where to Go campaign communications toolkit for October and November. It reminds the public where to go when they have minor illnesses, including coughs and colds, sore throats, and earache as well as signposting to health services such as pharmacies, NHS 111, urgent eye care service or mental health crisis support. The toolkit also encourages people to be well-prepared for the colder months and re-stock medicine cabinets.

Also included in the toolkit is the ‘3 Steps to Keep Healthy and Safe This Winter’ - an online guide produced by NHS GM with young children in mind. It offers guidance on common childhood illnesses, the best room temperature for sleeping babies, the latest advice on Strep A – and more.

You can help to promote the campaign by sharing messages and images on your social media channels.

Contact the NHS GM campaigns team if you have any questions – gmhscp.gm-campaigns@nhs.net.

Many people who have experienced a bereavement or mental health struggle will often seek a tattoo in memory of a loved one or as a mark of survival through difficult times.

Now Greater Manchester's Shining a Light on Suicide campaign is raising awareness among tattooists about support available for those affected by a bereavement or struggling with their mental health.

A short film has been produced acknowledging the significant role tattooists can play in their client’s lives while highlighting the help that can be offered by the Greater Manchester Bereavement Support Service; information that they can share with their clients or make use of themselves.

The film features Laura Murton (pictured left), who runs Lux Tattoo on Bury New Road in Prestwich, said: “People have tattoos for all sorts of reasons.

“You build up a good rapport, they are trusting you with something that is so permanent. People trust us with their bodies, and they trust us with their minds as well.

“People speak, they open up and we have a lot of clients that say tattooing for them is like therapy.”

The film also highlights the free online suicide prevention training provided by Zero Suicide Alliance that tattooists are encouraged to complete to help them feel more confident about having conversations about suicide and helping us to prevent suicide across our City region.

During National Hospice Week, Anita Rolfe, Deputy Chief Nurse at NHS GM, visited Bolton Hospice. She met up with Dr Leigh Valance, Chief Executive, and her team. Anita said:

“It was good to hear the depth and breadth of the services they provide, and in addition the integrated contribution they make within Bolton Locality.

“The hospice provides palliative and end of life care on an inpatient basis as well as support to those who visit for the day. There is a collaboration with The Christie who provide a lymphoedema service from the hospice site, which is good for local people accessing this service because of the convenience of being treated close to home.

“Bolton Hospice also provides palliative and end of life care medicines training to local pharmacists from Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, and there is a palliative care passport in place to support a seamless handover of care. The team at Bolton is very proud of the focus they have on the well-being of patients, volunteers and staff, and this has a positive impact on care delivery within the care setting.

“All Greater Manchester hospices are involved in developing their response to the new Patient Safety Framework (PSIRF), which is a further enhancement to the overall care experience for people using services.”

Picture caption: Dr Leigh Vallance (third from left), with Anita Rolfe (third from right) with some of the team from Bolton Hospice.