{"id":7509,"date":"2026-06-05T16:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newtonimpact.com\/?post_type=content_library&p=7509"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:11:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:11:38","slug":"manchester-closer-to-home","status":"publish","type":"content_library","link":"https:\/\/newtonimpact.com\/en-us\/content-library\/case-study\/manchester-closer-to-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester Closer to Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Case Study<\/p>\n

Care Closer to Home in Manchester<\/h1>\n

Delivering now, building for the future<\/p>\n <\/hgroup>\n <\/div>\n

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The challenge<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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Manchester, like many health and care systems nationally, has been facing sustained pressure across its urgent and emergency care (UEC) pathway. Despite the dedication of staff, residents were not always receiving the most appropriate support or achieving the most independent outcomes.<\/p>\n

In 2024, an assessment carried out by Newton found that many hospital admissions could have been safely managed in the community, and that almost a third of discharges were happening to non ideal settings, resulting in an avoidable dependency on long term care. Frontline teams also lacked timely access to data and visibility of community options, contributing to inconsistent decisions and variation in health and care outcomes. These challenges were compounded by fragmented system working, complex access routes into community services and a digital infrastructure that made staff decision making difficult.<\/p>\n

With Manchester Foundation Trust placed in NHS England\u2019s Tier 1 for challenging UEC performance, it became clear that the city needed a more unified and integrated approach; one that would shift care closer to home, strengthen community provision, and ensure people receive the right support in the most appropriate setting at the right time.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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Impact<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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Manchester\u2019s Care Closer to Home programme is helping the system make tangible progress toward its long\u2011term vision: a UEC system that keeps people well, prevents avoidable escalation, and supports residents to remain independent closer to home. By strengthening community services, improving access routes, and reshaping pathways that previously defaulted to hospital, the city is now delivering care in a way that better aligns with its strategic priorities of improving outcomes and promoting independence, whilst working as one to build a sustainable, person\u2011centred health and care system.<\/p>\n

Frontline teams across Manchester are increasingly able to make treatment decisions that put independence first, supported by clearer processes, better data visibility, and stronger relationships between partners. As a result, residents are experiencing a more responsive system that intervenes earlier, reduces time spent in hospital, and ensures people return to their own homes as quickly as possible \u2013 if not immediately.<\/p>\n

The programme has helped to cultivate a more collaborative culture across Manchester\u2019s health and care system. Partners are now working with a clearer shared purpose, supported by improved visibility of performance and a stronger collective understanding of where change is needed. This has laid the foundations for a future UEC model that is more integrated and better aligned to what Manchester wants for its residents: care that is compassionate, community\u2011focused, and helps people live independently for longer. This is explicitly aligned to the NHS 10 year plan and the UK Government\u2019s national ambition of shifting care \u2018from acute to community\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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Optimising services to deliver better outcomes for residents <\/h2>\n

To make meaningful improvements at pace, Manchester focused first on strengthening the services already in place, simplifying how people move through urgent and emergency care today, while reinvesting the capacity released into community services that will shape the city\u2019s future UEC model. This approach has allowed partners to improve flow, reduce unnecessary hospital use, and expand the support available closer to home, creating the foundations for a longer term shift toward prevention, independence and better outcomes for residents. The Care Closer to Home programme is built around a set of interconnected projects that work together to improve how decisions are made, reduce delays, and ensure people can access the right help at the right time:<\/p>\n <\/hgroup>\n

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\n 01<\/span>\n

Right Patient, Right Place<\/h3>\n

Staff now use clear, shared decision making frameworks to guide residents to the most appropriate setting of care, ensuring people are safely supported in the community whenever hospital isn\u2019t needed. This improves early assessment at the front door, reduces unnecessary admissions and strengthens performance against 4 and 12 hour standards.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Reducing Days Away From Home<\/h3>\n

Ward teams now prioritise a \u201chome first\u201d approach, reducing delays in tests, reviews and discharge activities so residents spend only the time they truly need in hospital. Close coordination between acute, community and council teams accelerates safe discharge, lowers acute occupancy and creates space to reinvest resources into community alternatives.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Short Term Services & Discharge<\/h3>\n

Short\u2011term home\u2011based and community bedded services now operate with clearer processes and faster acceptance, allowing residents who no longer need hospital care to move quickly into the right support. This reduces reliance on long\u2011term care, helps people regain independence sooner, and supports the city\u2019s long\u2011term shift towards sustainable community provision.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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System Visibility & Active Leadership<\/h3>\n

Leaders and frontline teams now use a single shared view of performance to spot pressures early, manage flow consistently and take coordinated action. Regular cross system forums reinforce shared accountability, embed evidence based decision making and support continuous improvement across the UEC pathway. This collective approach strengthens both day to day operations and the system\u2019s long term resilience.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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Outcomes<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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The Care Closer to Home programme is already delivering meaningful progress towards Manchester\u2019s ambition for a more responsive, community led UEC system that keeps residents well and independent for longer. People are spending less time in hospital, front\u2011door pressures are easing, and more residents are returning home sooner with the right support. These changes are contributing to stronger performance on ambulance handovers and 4 and 12 hour waits, while also reducing unnecessary bed occupancy, helping Manchester Royal Infirmary to remove corridor care and close escalation wards.<\/p>\n

Outside of the acute setting, the programme has also delivered significant reduction in Manchester City Council spend on both home based and bed based long term placements through avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions that cause deconditioning, appropriate pathway decision making on discharge from hospital, and increased use of reablement services to enable returns to more independent settings.<\/p>\n

As of January 2026, after 12 months, the Care Closer to Home programme has resulted in:<\/strong><\/p>\n