Merging of Manchester's major hospitals is one step closer
- 01.09.2016
- HannahBottomley
- Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion
The plans to merge some of Manchester’s major hospitals; the Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital and North Manchester General, pulling them out of the three separate NHS Trusts they are currently part of into one are somewhat more complicated than simply combining the services into a single, city centre-focused Trust.
If the planned merger goes ahead, North Manchester General Hospital, which is already struggling to meet industry standards, would move out of its current Trust (Pennine Acute Trust) to the new single, city centre Trust.
Sir David Dalton, the chief executive of Pennine Acute Trust, has already warned that this could have a negative knock-on effect on other hospitals in his Trust (Bury, Oldham and Rochdale), as he voiced concerns that North Manchester’s move could ‘destabilise services’ in Pennine Acute Trusts’ boroughs.
The news of the merger comes at a time when health and social care in Salford is to be radically overhauled as social care staff will move to an Integrated Care Organisation, led by Salford Royal Hospital.
In my opinion, this decision makes much more sense. It tackles the root of the problem of bed shortages and overcrowding. Many patients are currently stuck in hospitals because the social care support they need in order to be safely discharged simply is not available.
The coordinated approach to health care offered by Salford’s new Integrated Care Organisation proposal means that patients waiting for a nursing home or mental health support services will receive that care they need without taking up critical bed space needed by other patients.
There will also be a focus on ensuring vulnerable members of the community receive appropriate support within the community allowing them to stay in their own homes and hopefully reducing the number of hospital admissions overall.
Although health care in Greater Manchester is in desperate need of an overhaul, and it is reassuring to see that action is being taken to improve its current state, I am a little apprehensive that the merger as planned will have the desired effect.