The HMR Integrated Care Partnership Committee meeting scheduled for 17 December 2024 will receive reports on a range of topics relating to the health of the people of Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale. The most significant of these relate to the council’s budget, and its strategy for improving health outcomes in the borough. The committee will also receive updates on its programme to improve performance in GP surgeries, hospitals and care homes, and a report by Healthwatch Rochdale, a statutory body that scrutinises health and care services in the borough.

The council’s budget

A report titled Revenue Budget Update 2025/26 to 2027/28 (Revenue Budget Update 202526 to 202728) will be presented to the committee. It forecasts a budget gap of £5.887m in 2025/26, rising to £24.678m in 2027/28. The report identifies Children’s Services and Adult Social Care as being the areas with the most significant budget pressures. It states that:

Significant pressures in the budget relate to Children’s Services and Adult Social Care.

The report goes on to list a number of factors that are contributing to the projected budget gap. In particular, the rising costs and demand of Adult Social Care are putting pressure on the budget. This is being addressed through a combination of one off and recurrent funding, however the report calls for a long term solution to be developed.

The report also discusses the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and the challenges the council is facing in ensuring that this funding is sufficient to meet the increasing demands placed on the sector. This includes the cost of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which provide support to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The report also describes a number of proposals for addressing the budget gap, including a review of the council’s commercial income, the possibility of raising council tax, and a range of service efficiencies. These include the possibility of the council exploring opportunities to generate additional rental income from Number One Riverside.

The council’s strategy for improving health outcomes in the borough

The committee will discuss the council’s approach to developing a “neighbourhoods model” of healthcare. In a report titled Neighbourhoods Strategic Context (Neighbourhoods Strategic Context), the council states that it aims to be at the forefront of developing this approach to healthcare.

The report describes the characteristics of a “good neighbourhood model” and lists a number of national and regional initiatives that are driving this approach to healthcare. It also describes the “Co-operative Communities” model, which the council states is its preferred approach to delivering the neighbourhoods model.

The report describes the “Prevention Demonstrator” approach, an opportunity for Greater Manchester to become a national leader in the development of preventative healthcare. It also describes discussions with Tom Riordan, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, about the possibility of Rochdale becoming a “pathfinder” for the development of the neighbourhoods model.

The council’s programme to improve performance in GP surgeries, hospitals and care homes

The committee will hear a report on the progress made in quarter 3 of the council's Local Care Organisation (LCO) Business Plan (Local Care Organisation Business Plan 2024-25 Q3 Review). The report describes a number of achievements, including a reduction in the number of mental health patients being sent out of the borough for treatment, an increase in the number of people attending cancer screening events, and the successful roll out of the Diabetes Know Your Risk campaign.

The report also describes the success of the council’s Virtual Wards programme, which allows patients to receive hospital level care in their own homes. It states that utilization of the service has now reached 80%, however it goes on to state that this level of utilization is not being consistently achieved each week.

The report details the pilot of a “Single Point of Access” (SPoA) scheme that is being developed in collaboration with the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) and the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS). The goal of the scheme is to allow people to access urgent and emergency care in settings other than the Emergency Department (ED), for example in GP surgeries, pharmacies or in their own homes.

The report describes a number of other programmes of work that are underway, including the development of a “Neurodiversity Hub” that aims to improve access to support for children and young people with autism and ADHD. It also describes plans to expand the provision of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), with the aim of improving access to contraception for vulnerable women.

The report also discusses the work being done to roll out the council’s Prevention E-Learning Package, which is designed to help staff in the health and care sector to understand the importance of prevention. It states that over 2,500 staff across Rochdale Borough Council (RBC), Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Your Trust and Living Well have completed the training, with plans to roll out the package to the NCA in the coming months.

The report describes the work that has been done to identify and address financial pressures in the health and care system. It states that the council has been able to identify savings of £4.3m in 2024/25, with minimal impact on residents.

Healthwatch Rochdale’s report

The committee will hear a report by Healthwatch Rochdale (Healthwatch Rochdale Update Report), which describes some of the key issues and data trends that the organization has identified.

The report highlights the long waiting times for talking therapies, and the lack of deaf interpretation services. It also describes concerns about the closure of pharmacies, which is forcing some residents to travel further to collect their prescriptions. The report highlights that Healthwatch Rochdale has received complaints about the lack of disabled parking in Rochdale town centre. It states that:

Residents came to us to complain about the lack of disabled town centre parking, Healthwatch Rochdale raised this with the Leader of the council and was provided with an overview of where disabled parking is available across the town and published this on our website.

The report describes a number of initiatives that Healthwatch Rochdale has undertaken, including a “Deep Dive” project to support GP surgeries to re-establish their Patient Participation Groups (PPGs). It also describes the organisation’s work to review GP websites across the borough, and a research project that aimed to understand why some people are not having their measles vaccinations.

The report describes the organisation’s “Enter & View Programme”, which allows Healthwatch Rochdale staff to visit health and care services to observe how they are run and to gather feedback from patients. The report details a number of visits that have been made in recent months, including a visit to The Mews care home in Rochdale, and a revisit to the postnatal ward at the Royal Oldham Hospital.