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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
It’s been an absolutely beautiful day here in Manchester. The sun has been shining and the first green shoots are already pushing their way through the soil. It’s a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.
In today’s Mancunian Way we’ll be looking at the NHS strikes and taking a deep dive into the situation in social care and how it impacts the health service.
But first, let’s talk about Happy Valley.
If you’re not a fan of the brilliant BBC drama then please feel free to scroll past this section.
But those of you who are still catching your breath after last night’s finale (and the loss of a perfectly good crochet blanket) you might enjoy this piece by Damon Wilkinson. He's been to Hebden Bridge to talk about the buzz the series has created in the town.
As he writes, Hebden was once a thriving textile town that saw an influx of hippies in the 1960s who took advantage of cheap rents and gave rise to its second life as a bohemian and lesbian and gay capital of the North.
“Now Hebden Bridge is a haven for anarchists, free-thinkers, punks, hippies and socialists. But with its handsome stone terraces, cobbled high street, artisan bakers and spectacular countryside, it's also a tourist hotspot and middle-class commuter town for workers fleeing the big cities of Manchester, Leeds and London,” Damon writes.
Now a two-bedroom terrace in Hebden will set you back £150,000, while a family home like Catherine Cawood's goes for more than £350,000.
Damon has been speaking to locals about seeing their town on TV, the problems they face and how newcomers - known locally as 'offcumdens' - have changed things.
His article is well worth a read, but there's plenty more Happy Valley news here if you need it, as well as an interesting piece about the filming of the last episode.
‘If we fail, the NHS will fail'
For years, those within the social care sector have been crying out that the system is chronically underfunded and understaffed. And the future of the NHS is intrinsically tied to that of social care, according to doctors on the ground and health service leaders.
Though the government had pledged £200 million to buy care home beds for the NHS, many fear that won’t fix things. Health reporter Helena Vesty has been looking at why social care is falling apart and has spoken to those trying to save it. Her detailed piece makes for fascinating reading.
With many social care jobs advertised at national living wage and no sign of a pay rise or career progression, the sector is suffering a recruitment crisis. Experienced staff have left the profession and young people joining see no future and leave quickly. Those who remain see their caseloads and stress levels climb to worrying heights.
Meanwhile in hospitals, hundreds of patients who have been assessed as medically fit to go home languish on wards for weeks as there are not enough social care staff to take on new cases.
Of course social care is not just limited to the elderly and those leaving hospital. The umbrella of social care covers a wide range of people, including those with learning disabilities or mental health problems and children in foster care. Demand is growing fast.
“We're all living longer and that means people who historically had a condition that meant their life expectancy was shorter are living longer and needing more care with conditions like diabetes and dementia. There's also lots of other people who are adults with a learning disability or autism or something else that means they need extra support,” councillor Lisa Smart, who sits on Stockport’s adult social care and health scrutiny committee says.
“The demand on social care, the demand on council services is growing in all sorts of directions.”
Across the country, including in Greater Manchester, cash is being spent on agency workers to cover social care shifts. But Coun Smart says: "If you want to fix the NHS, you have to fix social care."
In Oldham, the local authority has invested almost £15m to try and improve pay, conditions, training and career progression. It will allow the council to recruit 50 extra social workers to reduce dependency on agency staff; bring in more social care support workers and encourage the best social workers to stay in Oldham with a new £2,000 retention payment to reward loyalty. Council leader Amanda Chadderton says foster carer payments will also increase and a residential care home for children with disabilities is being created in the borough.
The Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said up to £7.5 billion is being invested over the next two years to support adult social care and careers in care are being promoted.
You can read Helena's full report into the state of social care in Greater Manchester here.
The most disruptive to date
Nurses and ambulance staff across the country have staged walk-outs today. And England’s top doctor has warned the week’s action could be the most disruptive yet.
NHS Medical Director Sir Stephen Powis said: “While local services have worked hard to minimise impact for patients, the scale of action means increased disruption is inevitable.”
In Greater Manchester, nurses at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are on strike today and plan to strike again tomorrow.
Ambulance workers from the GMB and Unite Unions - affecting North West Ambulance Service - took action today, with further strikes planned by staff from Unison union on Friday.
We’ve got reporters on the picket lines, who are bringing you all the latest news about the strikes here.
‘The data is actually invaluable’
Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone has certainly proved controversial - and its future is still uncertain - but there has been one obvious benefit as far as police are concerned.
The network of around 400 ANPR cameras installed to enforce the CAZ have already provided evidence in five murder cases, six gun incidents, two stabbings and four fatal crashes.
Reporter Chris Slater spent a day on patrol with GMP's Roads Policing Taskforce. He found that officers currently need permission from Transport for Greater Manchester to get hold of information held on camera - which can cause delays.
But CCTV & ANPR Manager for GMP, Inspector Jon Middleton, wants data from the cameras fed directly into the force's systems. He believes there would be a 'consensus' amongst the law-abiding public for their use in helping to 'lock up criminals.'
"All that data, all those registration plates that are held for 12 months, if I'm investigating a crime where a vehicle is involved - that could be anything from a murder to a rape to a robbery to shoplifting - that data is actually invaluable,” he says.
"I would say most crimes involve vehicles nowadays. And if you can deny use of a vehicle to criminals it makes life very, very difficult for them.”
You can read the full piece here.
Drive-thru feast
Did you know there’s now a drive-thru Indian restaurant in Bolton? Well Tom Molloy did. In fact Tom - who is known in our office for trying some very unusual food challenges - was very keen to try it out.
He headed to Chaiiwala, on Manchester Road, to try some of the Indian street food on offer and spent just over £34 on a feast that included a Mumbai mac 'n' cheese, an Aloo tikki burger, pana puri and gunpowder masala chips.
Tom enjoyed it all so much that he regrets not ordering more. And he says the delicious gulab jamun - fried dough balls - may well replace the McFlurry as his 'go-to drive-thru dessert of choice'.
How Manc are ya?
Mancunian slang is unique. I certainly learnt that when I moved away from the city.
Let’s be honest, our phrases are mint. And I say that at the risk of sounding like Kathy Burke in that famous Kevin and Perry sketch.
Of course Manc accents vary from borough-to-borough, but it’s not dead hard to get what your mate is on about - d’ya know what I mean? Anyway - whatever. You can test your knowledge of the lingo in this quiz.
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Weather etc
- Tuesday: Cloudy. 7C.
- Road closures: One lane closed due to carriageway repairs on M56 in both directions between J7 A556 Chester Road (Bowdon) and J5 (Manchester Airport). until February 18.
- A5067 Chorlton Road inbound closed due to water main work between Jackson Crescent and A57(M) Mancunian Way Chester Road Roundabout until February 10.
- Trivia question: Which group did Johnny Marr form with Bernard Sumner from New Order?
Manchester headlines
Allegations: Manchester City could be docked points or even expelled from the Premier League if more than 100 alleged rule breaches announced on Monday are found proven. The Premier League issued a statement on its website announcing the club – who have won the competition six times since 2011 – had been referred to an independent commission in respect of a series of alleged breaches of rules related to club finances. Manchester City issued a statement expressing surprise at the announcement of the alleged rule breaches, which referred to ‘extensive engagement’ with the Premier League on the matter. The club also said they held ‘irrefutable evidence’ in support of their position.
Works: The final stage of the landmark Manchester to Chorlton Walking and Cycleway scheme is set to begin. Work on Area 3B - which runs along Manchester Road between Clarendon Road West and Sandy Lane - began today. The final design will include two CYCLOPS junctions, a feature which has become well-known in recent years through the roll out of this project. They will be located at the junction of Barlow Moor Road/Wilbraham Road (Four Banks), and the junction of Barlow Moor Road/High Lane and Sandy Lane. More here.
Eurovision: There could still be a chance for Manchester's Eurovision fans to celebrate together on the big day - even after losing out to Liverpool for the change to host the event. Coun Pat Karney, Manchester Council's city centre spokesperson, says discussions are underway for a 'celebration' to mark the event in May. “We are currently talking to the BBC about how we can celebrate the great event with our neighbours in Liverpool. We will be having some celebration," he said. The BBC is planning for major cities across the country to be taken over by Eurovision fan zones.
- The best: Time Out has named Manchester's hotly anticipated £210m Factory International as one of the 23 Best Things to Do in in the World in 2023. The magazine wrote: "Manchester is making a storm right now, with the UK city being crowned one of the world’s very best places to visit by Lonely Planet in 2022. It’s not showing any signs of slowing down this year, with the long-awaiting opening of Factory International, a £210 million arts venue which will be the new, permanent home of the biennial Manchester International Festival."
Temporarily closed: Withington venue Libertine has temporarily closed its doors due to rocketing energy costs. The pub closed just before Christmas, and has not re-opened since. The former bank underwent a huge refurbishment after being picked up by the team behind Cottonopolis and The Edinburgh Castle. A spokesperson for Libertine told the M.E.N: “We are currently taking stock of the energy tariffs we are on. Once we have a better idea on this we will have a clearer idea on opening back up.”
Worth a read
"My fear of dogs has been with me for as long as I can remember," writes reporter Rami Mwamba. “I still don’t enter a friend's house if they have a dog. I won’t bend over to pat an excited pup when it brushes itself against me at the park, and the longer a dog is in my presence the more nervous I become.”
Like many people who suffer with a phobia, Rami wondered if hypnotherapy could help him. So he tried a session with Stockport-based hypnotherapist and magician Jonathan Royle to see if he could help with his cynophobia.
You can see how Rami got on here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Electronic.
