Report of the Chief Executive, Manchester Local Care Organisation

This report provides an update on the work taking place to address health inequalities and improve health outcomes overall for people in Manchester living with long term conditions.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive, Manchester Local Care Organisation (MLCO) that provided an update on work underway in Manchester to improve health outcomes and address health inequalities in the prevalence and management of these long-term health conditions through the work of the Population Health Management Board and the Long-Term Conditions programme overseen by the Manchester Provider Collaborative.

Key points and themes in the report included:

• Providing an introduction and background;
• Noting that Long-Term Conditions (LTCs) were defined as diseases which cannot be cured but could be managed successfully with medication and other treatments;
• Describing that the standard national NHS offer of care for people with LTCs was through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) for General Practice; 
• LTCs were covered in one of the 8 key themes in the city’s 5 year action plan, Making Manchester Fairer (MMF); and
• Describing the different Long Term Conditions work programmes.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• Discussing the importance of prevention work, particularly at an early age to help mitigate the development of LTCs,
• Stating that the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care had identified health prevention work as a priority;
• Councillors, as elected local representatives should be actively involved with any neighbourhood approach to reduce health inequalities as they are an invaluable source of local knowledge;
• Noting the statistics presented by Asthma and Lung UK currently estimated that 1.7 million people were living with COPD, and that around 600,000 people were living undiagnosed;
• Recognising that air quality was an important issue;
• Discussing the impact austerity and the cost of living crisis had on people’s ability to choose healthier options and lifestyle choices and the impact this had on their health outcomes;
• The issue of obesity was important to address; and
• What was the approach to engage with those hard to reach residents and communities, noting the importance of early diagnosis and detection.

The Chief Medical Officer, Manchester Local Care Organisation responded to the comments from the Committee and said that whilst key messaging around Public Health were very important this did not form part of the report presented. He further acknowledged the discussion that had emerged regarding lifestyle choices and health outcomes and stressed the importance of understanding that in the context of the wider determinants of health.

The Chief Executive, Manchester Local Care Organisation acknowledged and welcomed the comment made regarding utilising local Councillors knowledge. She said this would be taken away as an action from this meeting. The Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care said that Integrated Team Leads should be routinely attending Neighbourhood Team meetings with Councillors. He added that he provided political representation at the Population Health Management Board and the Provider Collaborative Board and challenge was given. He said that consideration would be given to how best communicate this activity and outcomes to Members.

The Chief Executive, Manchester Local Care Organisation provided an example of where using trusted voices and local community health champions had increased bowel cancer screening rates amongst a specific population group. The Chief Medical Officer, Manchester Local Care Organisation said that they worked with the voluntary sector and community groups to establish trust with residents and health professionals. He also made reference to the use of new technology to support this engagement activity.

In response to a specific question asked by a Member who enquired if the situation in Manchester was improving or declining, the Chief Medical Officer, Manchester Local Care Organisation responded by saying that health inequalities in Manchester were reducing, however the health outcomes of the population as a whole remained stark, again commenting on the impact of austerity.

Decision

To note the report.