Manchester Policy Blogs

Integrating community pharmacy services in primary care: making better use of our healthcare venues

By Ali Hindi, Sally Jacobs and Ellen Schafheutle Filed Under: All posts, Health and Care Posted: March 6, 2019

The recently launched ‘NHS Long Term Plan’ proposes to make better use of community pharmacists’ skills and explore further efficiencies in community pharmacy in new primary care networks. In this blog, Ali Hindi, Ellen Schafheutle and Sally Jacobs highlight important factors for enhancing the use of community pharmacy services within primary care for patients with […]

Can Greater Manchester blaze the trail with an inclusive local industrial strategy?

By Ruth Lupton Filed Under: Growth and Inclusion, Urban Posted: March 4, 2019

Greater Manchester (GM) is one of a handful of ‘trailblazer’ areas selected to work with government on a local industrial strategy (LIS), due to be signed off in a few weeks’ time. As deliberations enter their final stages, Ruth Lupton, Head of the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit (IGAU), looks at how the strategy might shape […]

Lesbian and gay foster care and adoption: what’s changed over the last 20 years?

By Stephen Hicks Filed Under: Growth and Inclusion Posted: March 4, 2019

For LGBT+ Adoption and Fostering Week 2019, Dr Stephen Hicks, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, discusses the changes in policy over the last 20 years and the impact they have had on LGBTQ+ adopters and foster carers. Only 18 years ago, same-sex couples were not legally able jointly to adopt, and Section 28 of the […]

Are small modular reactors back on the agenda?

By Richard Taylor Filed Under: Energy and Environment Posted: February 19, 2019

The recent suspension of the Wylfa Nuclear power project has been seen by some as a potential opening for small modular reactors. Here Professor Richard Taylor, the BNFL Chair in Nuclear Energy Systems, at The University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute looks at what needs to happen for small modular reactors to actually become part […]

Is primary healthcare a hostile environment? The barriers facing asylum seekers and refugees accessing general practitioners in the UK

By Louise Tomkow and Rebecca Farrington Filed Under: Health and Social Care Posted: February 18, 2019

Dr Louise Tomkow is a Geriatric Registrar in the Northwest deanery and a PhD researcher exploring migration and health at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, The University of Manchester. Dr Rebecca Farrington is a General Practitioner working with asylum seekers and refugees and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester. In their blog they highlight how: […]

Why is government progress on fuel poverty stalling in England?

By Caitlin Robinson Filed Under: Growth and Inclusion Posted: February 15, 2019

In a recent report, the Committee on Fuel Poverty highlighted that progress on fuel poverty in England is stalling. On Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, Caitlin Robinson, Lecturer in Geography, reflects on reasons for this lack of progress and envisions a more ambitious approach to tackling fuel poverty. There is no typical profile of a fuel […]

Understanding the impact of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases on work

By Suzan Verstappen Filed Under: Health and Social Care Posted: February 12, 2019

Dr Suzan Verstappen has blogged for us on the impact of Rheumatoid and Musculoskeletal Disease (RMD) on the workforce. Here, she outlines how her research, in association with a number of national research projects, aims to furnish the evidence base by which the extent of the RMD challenge to both workforce health and workplace design […]

Don’t panic! Keep calm and help young people to benefit from social media

By Neil Humphrey and Margarita Panayiotou Filed Under: Digital Futures, Health and Social Care Posted: February 7, 2019

In our final blog for Children’s Mental Health Week, Professor Neil Humphrey and Dr Margarita Panayiotou discuss mental health and social media. A causal link between young people’s use of digital technologies and their subsequent experience of mental health difficulties has not been proven. Social media can have both positive and negative effects on mental […]

Online counselling for young people: Increasing access and reducing loneliness

By Terry Hanley and Pamela Qualter Filed Under: All posts, Digital Futures, Health and Care Posted: February 6, 2019

For over 15 years, staff based in the Manchester Institute of Education have been engaged in research exploring the development of online counselling services for young people. Here, Dr Terry Hanley and Professor Pamela Qualter discuss their research findings and make recommendations for the UK Government’s strategy for tackling loneliness. Our research findings act as […]

Breaking the silence: The importance of student involvement in school mental health

By Cathy Atkinson and Lucy Wilkinson Filed Under: Digital Futures, Education, Health and Care Posted: February 5, 2019

Hardly a day passes when adolescent mental health is not in the news. Dr Cathy Atkinson, Senior Lecturer in Education and Child Psychology at the Manchester Institute of Education, and Lucy Wilkinson, sixth-form student at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, discuss their research into student-led mental health initiatives at AGGS, and suggest that this approach […]