Wigan Council and NHS Ashton Leigh and Wigan have sealed a landmark agreement to work together to improve the health of people in the borough.
The agreement is one of the most ambitious of its kind in the country. The two organisations are now sharing over £165million of investment resources and directing those to improve health outcomes, working to a single agreed plan.
The move formalises a ‘Single Commissioning Agency’ over several years of close working between the Council and the local NHS in the borough; uniting social care, health and wellbeing services.
Early priorities for the single approach will be developing new ways to help people receive the services they need to stay healthy and independent, close to home, within their community where possible. Working together to address the health inequalities that exist in the borough, and in particular to build on recent joint work to address the risks of coronary heart disease, remains a key area for focus.
Councillor Keith Cunliffe, Healthier Communities and Older People Champion, says: “At its heart, this is about improving lives by designing services around people not organisations. Working together to target our resources where most needed. That’s why, I’m really pleased we have reached this milestone, which is an excellent platform for us to consolidate to improve health, wellbeing and social care services for individuals and communities across the borough.”
Alan Stephenson, Chairman of the NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan, says: ‘We are very aware that as two organisations we both want to improve the lives of Wigan’s communities, but that different ways of working can sometimes mean things don’t appear joined up from a patient’s point of view. By bringing together the commissioning of services for the population of the borough in this way around a single plan, we aim to make the best use of our resources in a way that both improves patient experience and health and wellbeing outcomes.”
