Greater Manchester is a great place to live and work, but people here are dying younger, and many more from serious diseases, than in most other parts of the UK. Devolution is giving us the opportunity to change that for the better.
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WHAT'S WRONG?
Everyone in Greater Manchester deserves to live well. But for years our health has been poorer than the UK average, with more people here suffering from illnesses like heart disease and cancer.
More than two thirds of early deaths in our region are caused by things like smoking, alcohol dependency, poor diet and air pollution. Many of these deaths can be prevented through better support and better lifestyle choices.
Nearly 25% of us have a mental health or wellbeing issue, which can affect everything – our physical health, our ability to work, our parenting. In the worst cases, it’s leaving people homeless.
Meanwhile, our growing number of older people have many long-term health issues to manage.
All of these things are putting our public services under more pressure.
WHAT WE'RE DOING TO MAKE IT BETTER
Only by joining up all the things that affect our health can we begin to really change them.
We’ve brought together all of our health and social care services, building them around the individual and the community for better, more responsive care. We’re reshaping our system so that everyone can get the same high standards of care and so it is financially affordable into the future.
But we’re doing a lot more besides. Devolution is also giving us a unique opportunity to address the bigger picture, particularly the link between our health and our standard of living.
We’ve put in place a number of new plans that support everything from good eating habits and exercise to education and everyone’s ability to earn a decent living.
All of these things mean we can give children the start they need, support independence in old age, tackle illness earlier on and even prevent it altogether by improving our lifestyles.
We’re making improvements in three main areas.
More healthy lives
A better start in life
Cutting the number of smokers by a third
Moving more
Keeping your job when hit by sickness
Cutting deaths from “the big killers”
Helping older people stay independent
Joined up health and care
More GP appointments
Better social care at home
Better access to mental health services
Better services for people with learning disabilities
Better hospital services
Innovative thinking and strong partnerships
Valuing and developing our workforce
Supporting unpaid carers
Digital records to improve care
Innovation to find new treatments
HOW WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE
We’ve made progress on the changes we need for a healthier Greater Manchester, although there is still a long way to go. Some of these changes are already making things better.
