Leaders sign historic deal

21st December 2016

Senior health and social care leaders came together in Stockport today (Friday 16th December) to sign a historic £16 million deal which will be used to fund health and social care transformation plans set out by Stockport Together.

The signing marks the official agreement between Stockport Together’s partner organisations and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership about what funding will be made available for the next two and half years.

Stockport, along with Salford and Tameside, has been granted the financial support from the £450 million fund which was awarded to the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership to support its devolution plans.

Stockport Together is a partnership between NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Viaduct Health (GP federation). It aims to improve health and social care services across the borough by moving care closer to home.

Under the new plans, a person with a long-term condition and registered with a GP in Stockport, will have their care overseen by a multi-disciplinary team in the community. This will ensure a more rounded approach towards care that better meets their medical and social needs at one time and in one place. The links that are being made with the voluntary sector also help to ensure that they have access to support and care from their local community.

Helping people to adopt healthier lifestyles and prevent ill health is also a top priority. People in Stockport will have more opportunities to access support and advice to make healthy activities part of their daily lives.

The strong relationship across health and social care leaders has been a major influence on the development of the Stockport Together plans.

Dr Colin Wasson, medical director for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital and community health services, said; “The Stockport Together partnership plan puts local people, rather than healthcare organisations, at the centre of our plans. It is about wrapping joined-up services around them.

“Through focussing on caring and supporting people closer to home, we will reduce the need for some hospital outpatient appointments, and improve access to diagnostic tests in local neighbourhoods. By ensuring that there is more help for people at home, we can greatly reduce the need for hospital admissions, and for patients who do require admission, considerably reduce their length of hospital stay.

“This funding will help us progress with these important plans and represents a real step forward in improving the healthcare experience for the people of Stockport.”

Dr Ranjit Gill, local GP and Chief Clinical Officer for NHS Stockport CCG also added; “Working closely together with our local GP Practices, Stockport Council, Stockport Foundation Trust and Pennine Care Foundation Trust, has meant that we have already begun to make real progress in improving the care provided to the people of Stockport.

“Receiving this funding will enable us to build on this fantastic work and make Stockport’s NHS & Social Care Services consistently amongst the best in England.”

Councillor Wendy Wild, Deputy Leader of Stockport Council and Executive member for Adult Social care, said: “This funding enables us to move forward with the plans we have developed across Health and Social care in Stockport, and the way care reaches those who need it.

“Having secured the investment to take this forward, it means we can now start to provide more care closer to people’s homes and to support people to keep well whilst reducing unnecessary trips to hospital.”

Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership is the body made up of the 37 NHS organisations and councils in the city region, which is overseeing devolution and taking charge of the £6bn health and social care budget, as well as the distribution of the £450million transformation fund.

Greater Manchester Health and Social Care (GMHSC) Partnership Chief Officer Jon Rouse said: “The transformation funding is enabling us in Greater Manchester to go further and faster to realise the potential within our communities and think differently about how we provide services in order to secure the best for all our residents.

Lord Peter Smith, Chair of the GMHSC Strategic Partnership Board, said: “This investment will ensure that those living in Stockport get the best start in life, prosper and thrive through adulthood, manage their health well into their older age and die in a dignified manner in a place of their choosing.”

For more information go to website and if you would like to receive more information or for us to come out and speak to your group please email stoccg.stockport-together@nhs.net