It was approved at the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership board today, Friday 27 September, that Andy Burnham will take over from the current co-chair, the Salford City Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Greater Manchester Paul Dennett.
Andy Burnham joins Sir Richard Leese, the current co-chair, in leading the board. Together they bring decades of experience in leadership on healthcare and tackling health inequalities and the causes of ill-health.
Sir Richard helped broker Greater Manchester’s groundbreaking health devolution deal with Government in 2015, while Andy Burnham was previously Minister of State and Secretary of State for Health.
Their joint leadership will drive forward Greater Manchester’s ambition to transform the way NHS, public and community services are delivered, working together and with people and communities to support all residents to live healthy, happy lives and reduce pressure on the NHS.
Live Well
Through our Live Well approach, we aim for everyone to be able to access simple support and advice to improve their physical and mental health and deal with the problems that are holding them back.
By breaking down barriers and creating new partnerships, it will help us tackle factors that impact on people’s health such as poor housing and insecure, low wage work.
Live Well also develop innovative new healthcare solutions, like training up firefighters from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to deliver life-saving treatment to people experiencing cardiac arrest and other health emergencies.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“I look forward to working with Sir Richard Leese and the board to deliver safe and effective healthcare services while also working on the issues that shape our health, like housing, employment and transport.
“I saw during my time as Health Secretary that so much of the pressure on our NHS could be reduced by taking a more preventative approach. As the new Government works to fix the NHS, we in Greater Manchester can play our part by rewiring the system to help people to Live Well.
“This is a chance to bring the NHS even closer to other public services in Greater Manchester, setting the groundwork for delivering initiatives like Housing First, our mission to end the housing crisis – because good health cannot come without a good, permanent home.
“It also lays the foundations for our next phase of Live Well, building on the truly amazing work between the NHS and Greater Manchester’s community and voluntary organisations over the past five years. We hope that soon we can bring employment support services into the Greater Manchester system so people who need help to get back into work can get the wraparound support and advice they need.
“I want to thank our Deputy Mayor, Paul Dennett for his hard work and dedication on the board that has been instrumental in setting the stage for this next chapter for Greater Manchester.
“Together, we are ready to pioneer a new way of providing everyday support for our residents, and this closer working is a crucial step in helping us to achieve that vision.”
Sir Richard Leese, NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership co-chair said:
“As we start this new chapter with Andy as our co-chair, our goal is to create an integrated health and care system that not only responds to needs but also tackles the root causes of poor health.
“By working together across all sectors, we can help every resident of Greater Manchester thrive. Our commitment to innovation and partnership will lead the way, making Greater Manchester a model of health and wellbeing for everyone.
“I also want to thank Paul for the work he has done in getting such a strong partnership board up and running”