The Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the creation of a new NHS Integrated Care Board Chair for Greater Manchester, who will also serve as the Mayor’s Health Commissioner.
The role will jointly teported to the health service and local mayors, these new leaders will be tasked with driving improvements that directly improve people’s health – reporting directly to democratically elected mayors.
The trial is part of the government’s plans to tackle health inequalities, end the NHS postcode lottery, and close health inequality gaps within and between regions, so everyone lives well for longer.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:
“This is a landmark moment in a decade-long journey of health devolution in Greater Manchester. We’ve built a strong model of partnership working across the NHS, local government, our voluntary and faith sectors, and community partners – all focused on improving health for our residents.
“The Secretary of State has recognised those efforts, and we thank him for the action he is taking today.
“A study published in The Lancet in 2022 found that, following the devolution of health and care, healthy life expectancy rose faster in Greater Manchester than other areas before the pandemic.
“Now we have the potential to get back on track and go even further, creating the right conditions for everyone to live healthier lives. A Health Commissioner will help us pioneer a radical new way of delivering public services that’s better for our communities and better for the public purse.
“We’re working with Government on making Greater Manchester the blueprint for prevention. For too long our public services have been trapped in short-term cycles of costly crisis intervention. We want to show that investing in early help is a more effective way of spending public money – providing support to improve people’s lives and prevent them falling into crisis in the first place.”
