HEALTH

Burnham: Hand care to NHS

The ‘only answer’ to the problems facing adult social care is to bring care services into the NHS, Greater Manchester’s mayoral hopeful Andy Burnham has argued.

The ‘only answer' to the problems facing adult social care is to bring care services into the NHS, Greater Manchester's mayoral hopeful Andy Burnham has argued.

Speaking at a conference sponsored by Capacity Grid and supported by The MJ, the former health secretary said: ‘If you let social care collapse, it, in the end, will drag the health service down with it.

‘The only answer to the 21st century and the century of the aging society is to bring social care fully into the National Health Service, to develop the idea of one service for the whole person. No silos anymore.'

Mr Burnham called for an end to a situation where one organisation looked after physical health, another mental health and another adult social care needs.

He continued: ‘I believe you have got to go to a single service for the whole person and all of their needs, and that is what I want to build here in Greater Manchester, a national health and care service.'

But he added: ‘I do believe in the "N" in NHS. The national matters. People's entitlement shouldn't be devolved. We should all get the same standard of care.' 

HEALTH

Keeping a neighbourly eye on care

By Ann McGauran | 25 April 2025

The Government is committed to creating a neighbourhood health service, but some local places have worked on this agenda for years. What are the lessons so f...

HEALTH

Reforming and transforming

By Heather Jameson | 24 April 2025

As councils rush towards reorganisation, what are the lessons from past redesigns? Heather Jameson reports from a webinar hosted by Penna, CIPFA and The MJ –...

HEALTH

The local impact of disability benefits reforms

By Deven Ghelani | 24 April 2025

Disability benefits changes will hit the North and Wales the hardest, and the 10 councils impacted the most face economic costs five times higher than the av...

HEALTH

Reassembling the dragon

By Rob Thomas | 23 April 2025

Rob Thomas tracks policy debate on council reorganisation in Wales since 1996, and says the early work of a new independent group to explore how essential se...

Heather Jameson

Popular articles by Heather Jameson