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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello and welcome,
It looks like we’ve got a fairly sunny weekend ahead of us, so enjoy it whatever you’re up to.
In today’s newsletter we’ll be discussing the challenges facing our region’s hospitals, a looming byelection and the soaring price of sausages at the Christmas Markets. Let's begin.
Two years of winter
"It feels like we are in winter now, we have been in winter for two years. But in terms of the seasonal winter, the cold spell that we are expecting, we have been planning for winter since July.”
That’s what Steve Dixon told Greater Manchester’s Joint Health Scrutiny Committee earlier this week. He has a key role in joining up services across Greater Manchester for the region’s new Integrated Care Partnership.
And this week he announced that GM’s NHS and care services will be boosted with £34 million to shore up the system for winter. The money will be used for extra beds, ‘virtual wards’ and voluntary help.
Health reporter Helena Vesty listened to that meeting and reports that health chiefs are working to put ‘as much in place as possible’ amid continuing pressures from Covid, difficulties discharging people into an understaffed social care system, lockdown backlogs and high referral numbers.
Bosses are focussing on vaccinations, discharge and flow and same-day emergency care so patients can be referred directly into hospitals rather than waiting in A&E or the back of an ambulance.
The most recent NHS data reveals that 2,693 people (of 121,890 who attended) waited more than 12 hours in A&E departments across Greater Manchester last month, as pressures continue.
And Reach data unit’s David Dubas-Fisher has found the situation is only getting worse, as you can see from the chart above.
Back in January 1,517 people had to wait over 12 hours in our A&E departments. By July that number had risen to 1,751 and in September it was 2,236.
The NHS target is for 95 per cent of A&E attendees to be dealt with in less than four hours to be admitted, discharged or transferred. But just 58 per cent reached that target in our hospitals in October.
Across England, 43,792 people had to wait more than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E last month - up from 32,776 in September.
Mr Dixon told the meeting this week that ‘every single part’ of the health and care system is under ‘significant pressure’ and has been for two years.
“[We have] Increased demand, workforce challenges, trying to maintain the elective programme and clearing the waiting lists at the same time as dealing with the urgent care pressures,” he said.
‘A great deal of sympathy’
The Chancellor said tackling inflation is his priority when asked about the upcoming nurses’ strike today.
Jeremy Hunt said nurses are ‘working incredibly hard’ and he has ‘a great deal of sympathy for them’. He told Sky News they feel frustrated ‘because inflation is more than 10 per cent’. “The best thing I can do as Chancellor is to produce a plan that brings down inflation, brings down the upward pressure on interest rates,” he said.
Nurses have voted to take industrial action over pay levels and patient safety concerns.
It will be the first ever national action over a pay dispute in the 106-year history of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
In Greater Manchester, the affected organisations will be :
- Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
- The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
- Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
- North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
The exact nature of the action is yet to be determined, but is expected to begin before the end of this year and will likely see patients face disruption to operations and appointments.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has come out in favour of the strike - tweeting: “Support the nurses.”
Greater Manchester NHS bosses have already said they are planning for a nurses strike ‘as they would plan for a major incident’.
Worth of a wurst
Speaking of inflation - the cost of some sausages at Manchester's Christmas Markets has snuck up to £7.
Meanwhile drinks are up between 50p and £1 on last year with gluhwein starting at £5 and lager at £6 a pint on many stalls.
Dianne Bourne, who was reporting from the markets all day yesterday, has been speaking to traders about why the worth of a wurst has risen since last year’s event.
Pig and Barrel and Clowbecks Farmhouse Kitchen manager Una Le Roux says inflation was always going to impact stallholders. "All prices have gone up everywhere - whether it be fuel prices, staffing prices, food prices, everything has gone up. We've not really put prices up since before the pandemic in 2019,” she said.
While Hannah Jobe, who runs Panc vegan stall at Piccadilly Gardens, says all her suppliers have increased prices this year.
“When you go to any type of market, it might not be the cheapest, but it’s hand-crafted - we cook everything from fresh and there’s so many things in the background people might not think about that has to go into setting prices,” she said.
Meanwhile, Eddie Osman has also been forced to increase the price of his Porky Pig Carvery’s famous Yorkshire pudding wraps by 50p - though drinks prices have stayed the same. He says gas supply for the huge stall on Exchange Square has increased from £18 a bottle to £32 - and they use around five a day.
The markets run until December 22 and are open daily between 10am and 9pm.
The full list of food and drinks prices is here.
Byelecton alert
Who doesn’t love a byelection? Actually scrap that - who does love a byelection?
Political reporters? Masochists? The winner?
Even if you don’t fall into one of these three categories, you may still be interested to know that Kate Green has now formally resigned as an MP - setting up a byelection in the safe seat of Stretford and Urmston.
The Treasury today released a statement to say it had accepted the Labour MP’s resignation.
Ms Green is set to replace Baroness Bev Hughes as Andy Burnham’s deputy mayor next year. Metro mayors and their deputies cannot be MPs at the same time if their responsibilities include powers over the police.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “Kate Green has been a tireless advocate for the people of Stretford and Urmston for 12 years. As the next deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, she will continue to deliver for her local community.
“Kate, I look forward to working with you in your new role.”
Andy B back on the decks
Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram will be throwing shapes in the Church of Dance on December 2.
The mayors are set to DJ in the Archive space at Mayfield Depot, with all the proceeds set to go to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Mr Burnham must have been buoyed by his well-received performance at Romana back in August, when he laid down a selection of tracks from Manchester’s best maraca-wielding bands.
At the time, I perhaps unfairly criticised his playlist for its blokey-ness - though he did reportedly end the set with TLC’s 'No Scrubs'.
So if you’re reading this Andy and want to prove me wrong, please can we have ‘Cleopatra’s Theme’, ‘Flowers’, or something from Roisin Murphy, who is sort of a Manc.
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Weather etc
- Saturday: Overcast changing to sunny intervals in the afternoon. 14C.
- Trams: Revised service on Manchester Metrolink due to overrunning engineering works at Piccadilly Gardens. Some Metrolink services are operating with changes until the end of November when the works can be finished.
- Trains: Special timetable operating on Avanti West Coast and Transpennine Express due to shortage of train crews. Passengers are advised to check their journeys before travelling.
- Trivia question: Which member of pop band The Monkees was born in Leamington Street, in Openshaw.
Manchester headlines
Visit: Greater Manchester welcomed Taoiseach Micheál Martin on his first official visit to the city-region yesterday. Andy Burnham and Manchester Council leader Bev Craig met the Taoiseach in Manchester ahead of his participation in the British-Irish Council Summit in Blackpool. Mr Martin said he was delighted to visit a place with ‘such a deep and long standing connection to Ireland, and somewhere we share so many political, trading and cultural links with’.
Deansgate: City centre commuters have blasted new roadworks that have appeared on Deansgate and are causing traffic chaos. The roadworks reduce one part of the busy road to just a narrow lane past Spinningfields and have been criticised by drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Commuters say traffic lights 'only let two cars at a time through' and claim cycle lanes are blocked by road signs and pedestrians 'darting out across the road'. More here.
Bull & Bear: Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge is parting ways with Gary Neville at their restaurant The Bull & Bear in Manchester. Michelin Star holding chef Tom opened the high-end pub/restaurant inside the Stock Exchange Hotel three years ago. It’s co-owned by former Manchester United footballers Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs' GG Hospitality and hotelier Winston Zahra. But Tom's menu will be served up for the last time on December 31.
Changes: A Village nightclub that was shut down over the summer amid a rape allegation is set to re-open after a redevelopment. Bloom was stripped of its licence by Manchester City Council following a hearing. Developers WBI Group have introduced a series of plans to revamp the venue, Princess House, by removing the club and replacing it with a coffee shop.
Worth a read
“I would have Christmas every day as it cheers me up,” said a beaming councillor Pat Karney as he officially opened Manchester’s Christmas Markets yesterday.
“Obviously, we're all aware of the Cost of Living crisis, but there's no compulsion to buy anything, the atmosphere is free, bring your family down and soak up the festive atmosphere.”
What’s On editor Jenna Campbell spent the day at the markets and describes those opening hours in this feature, which gives a good insight into the hard work that’s put into the festive attraction each year.
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: Davy Jones.
