Council and Primary Care Trust team up to plan for future

Councillor Dale Mulgrew

A major study of the borough's current and future health and wellbeing needs is starting - to make sure that the services provided meet the needs of local people now and into the future.

Rochdale Council and the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust are working together on the borough's first ever Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. This will look at what needs to be done in both the short and long term to ensure that services are provided which will help to improve residents' health and wellbeing.

The review will link in with existing work being done by the council and the PCT, both jointly and independently, to develop strategic plans for the future.

Councillor Dale Mulgrew, Rochdale Borough Council's cabinet member for health and social care, said: "We have already consulted widely over the years about what people want to see done differently.  This is about understanding what is needed in the borough, making sure that everyone's opinions are heard and understood, and helping those who commission services to ensure that the right ones are provided. It's a bit like a health census and it'll result in a report on the state of health and social care provision in the borough. The council is working very closely together with the Primary Care Trust, trying to improve what's offered to residents.  We're using information from a really wide range of sources - from what users have said, to the statistical analysis of what is actually happening."

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment is a process introduced by the Department of Health to ensure that local agencies are providing services that will improve people's quality of life. It's an ongoing process rather than a one-off activity.  Rochdale Borough Council and Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust have recognised that health and wellbeing is about all aspects of residents' lives and so will look at a number of different issues. This will start with older people and also look at the most deprived areas of the borough, but eventually all aspects of health and wellbeing will be examined.

John Pierce. Chairman of Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust, said: "This process is about making sure that we have a thorough overview of what the health and social care needs and priorities are in our local communities, and then ensuring that wherever possible we try to meet those needs in future years. It will mean better value for money and bring forward new ideas, as well as solutions cited as being examples of good practice.  People should see improvements to services, as well as a united message from the PCT and the council that health and wellbeing is of massive importance to everyone in the borough."