Last Friday I attended the July
meeting of the Greater Manchester Health and Care Board (GMHCB). This month, the
meeting was held in Trafford Town Hall, a rather modern, but welcoming building
located close to both the famous Old Trafford football and cricket grounds. After
weeks of blues skies and almost tropical heat, the rain finally came. It was
like a monsoon. I got soaked just crossing the pavement from my car to a
wonderful Persian eatery. I treated myself to a Full English Vegetarian
Breakfast, which when it came, would have done most Smokey Joes Cafés proud.
The food was delicious and set me up for the meeting, which I knew from the
papers, was going to be a long one.
The Chief Officer, John Rouse
CBE, presented a very positive report across all areas of the GMHCB activities.
£10 million of extra funding had been provided for cancer services; a new Institute
for Health, Arts and Creativity had been opened; Health Innovation Manchester,
an organisation representing health, care, industry and academia had launched
their new innovation pathway. Most interestingly, from my perspective, was the
news that all clinical services, the four Universities across Greater
Manchester and Greater Manchester music icons had come together in a joint
campaign to recruit more nurses, something that would have seemed impossible
just a few years ago. I so like the video that is being used to promote nursing
and nursing in Greater Manchester – see it here.
Now one of the things that sets
GMHCB apart is their commitment to co-production. All voices are valued, but in
particular those who will be impacted by changes and plans to services or
approaches – the ‘experts by experience’. This month we saw 3 such
examples. The first was the launch of the GM Learning Disability Strategy. The
launch was the result of seven months of consultation with families, people
living with a disability and care services. Three people with different
learning disabilities came to present the strategy and ask for the resources to
be provided to take it forward. The group opened up with the challenge of
having co-produced the strategy, ‘the lions did not want to be led by donkeys’
(a quote from the 1st World War). The strategy was accepted and
resources identified to take it forward. The group plan to provide an update in
6 months. The second part of this week’s blog title came from this
presentation. Great leadership.
The second example was an update
on the Maternity and Newborn Implementation Plan. Two users of the service with
very different experiences and expectations of giving birth presented their
personal experiences and the way they had been able to help in the development
of the plan. The take home messages were very clear: having choice of where to
give birth was important; continuity of care from midwives; and greater
involvement of fathers. They had launched the ‘dadpad’ resource, which I have
to say, 40 years ago I would have found invaluable. I was struck by the
difference this presentation was to the one I had received last Wednesday at
our Quality and Safety Committee, which essentially was presented by the Head
of Maternity Services. We clearly could do better.
The final example was a progress
report on the GM Physical Activity Strategy. There is compelling evidence that physical
activit, and sport contribute to our physical and mental wellbeing. As we have
seen with the recent successes of the English football team in the World Cup,
sport can also be a catalyst to social and community development. Unfortunately
38% of people living in Greater Manchester are simply not doing enough activity
to benefit their health. Launched just a year ago, great progress has already
been made. It was great to hear that 50% of all primary Schools across Greater
Manchester are already doing the ‘daily mile’ – 15 minutes each day where
children in primary and nursery schools get to run or jog for 15 minutes at
their own pace, making them fitter and better able to concentrate on their
lessons. The two ‘experts by experience’ were very different. One was a GP, who
unpacked the science behind what happens when we are less active. He did it in
a way that was both humorous and easy to understand. I was fascinated by his
account of telomeres (a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences at each end
of a chromosome). Essentially the shorter the telomere, the more likely we are
to sufferer a life shortening or long-term condition. Physical activity has a
direct effect on these telomeres. But as he said, physical activity has to be the
foundation of good health and not just a lifestyle choice.
The final voice heard was a lady
who, with her mother dying of cancer, and having low self confidence and
self-esteem herself caused by being seven stone overweight, took up running. At
first she ran at night (under the cover of darkness so no one would see her)
running from lamp post to lamp post. She eventually ran a 5km Park Run and her
life changed. She gained control of weight, made new friends, and has become an
active member of her local Park Run, and has run some 55 park runs now. The
first part of the blog’s title comes from her story. She recalled that when she
first completed that 5km run she laughed with relief and pride, and everyone
knew because she ‘laughs like a camel giving birth’. Her enthusiasm was
infectious and she was a great ambassador for the difference physical activity
can make for your health.
It was also good to hear of the development of Park
Walks, and Park Toddles. For others looking for an activity, the meeting also
launched the Beeline project. The project involves creating 1,000 miles of
walking and cycling routes connecting communities across Greater Manchester,
and some 75 miles of fully segregated routes along some of the busiest roads
across the region. It will be the UKs largest joined up network for walking and
cycling. Simply brilliant in ambition and in health giving opportunities for so
many!
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