Leader of Wigan Council, Peter Smith, will drive forward the continued transformation of health and social care services across the city-region, working with the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “This is an important announcement that firms up my commitment to bringing health and social care services closer together in a way that reduces health inequalities and ensures our vulnerable and elderly are getting the best care available.
“There is some great work already going on across Greater Manchester to truly put the health and wellbeing needs of our residents at the heart of services. Lord Peter Smith has been at the forefront of these improvements and I look forward with working with him and the Health and Social Care Partnership to continue this transformation.”
The announcement was made Wigan Infirmary’s Integrated Discharge Hub, an innovative service which brings together local health partners, Wigan Council and homelessness charity The Brick to provide individual health and social care plans for people being discharged from hospital into the community.
Lord Peter Smith said: “The devolution of health and social care has provided Greater Manchester with some real opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents, including the transformation of mental health services, and bringing public services together for the benefit of local people.
“I’m pleased to continue leading this work, working alongside the Mayor to drive forward Greater Manchester’s ambition for a health and social care service that is truly world-class and drastically improves the health of our population.”
Lord Peter Smith is leader of Wigan Council and Chair of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Strategic Partnership Board.