Stories of Change

Fairer Health for All: Stories of Change

Sharing stories of change illustrating Fairer Health for All in action helps the Greater Manchester system to learn and grow together, promoting equity and inclusion, and helping us to make fairer health a reality for all.

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Check out our latest stories of change shared by our GM system partners:

Story of Change: Story of Change: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD): A Joint Public Health Campaign by NHS GM ICB and Bolton Council

A joint public health awareness campaign was delivered by NHS GM and Bolton Council, where the team engaged directly with licensed premises in Horwich to raise awareness of FASD. In December 2025, they attended a meeting of the Horwich Pub Watch group to introduce the campaign to local landlords and landladies, outline the public health rationale, and share campaign posters. The Bolton Public Health Team then returned to the Horwich pubs in the following weeks to find out how the campaign was progressing.

Story of Change: GM Live Well Accelerator Programme

This report captures powerful stories of impact and change from across the GM Live Well Accelerator Programme. Over the following pages, you can read in detail about the impressive and compelling impact achieved — and the ways of working or practice that made it possible.

Story of Change: The Greater Manchester WorkWell Partnership Programme

The GM WorkWell Partnership Programme is part of a £64 million national pilot funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with Greater Manchester being one of the 15 areas delivering the programme. Through GM WorkWell, Greater Manchester is testing new ways of strengthening the integration of work and health services. The programme supports a coordinated, locally responsive approach to addressing health-related barriers to sustainable employment.

6 children from different races stood in a circle and looking down into the camera positioned on the ground facing up.

Trialling Text-First Invitations for Childhood Immunisations

NHS South, Central and West's Child Health Information Service piloted a “text-first” approach—supported by letters when needed—across Manchester, Salford, and Trafford over three months. The pilot showed that vaccination uptake and timelines were equal to or better than letter-only methods. Those in highly deprived areas and ethnic minority groups responded particularly well to text invitations.

Efficacy of Hospital Alcohol Care Teams

Through collaborative working between the Royal Oldham Hospital Alcohol Care Team and community treatment services, targeted investment has transformed support for people affected by alcohol and substance use. Temporary funding enabled a 7-day service, faster assessments, new detox and referral pathways, and expanded specialist training, resulting in fewer hospital admissions, shorter stays and reduced repeat attendances. Alongside these system-wide improvements, the service has supported individuals to rebuild their lives, demonstrating how timely, joined-up hospital and community care can deliver safer, higher-quality outcomes and lasting recovery.

Helping New Parents Get the Best Start

Commissioned by Salford Family Hubs, the Home-Start Infant Feeding Peer Support Service has strengthened support for parents to make informed choices about feeding their baby. Working in partnership with the NHS and voluntary, community and faith sector organisations, the service provides trained peer support through home visits, groups and digital channels. Early access to evidence-based support has contributed to breastfeeding rates of 89% at 6-8 weeks in Salford, compared with a national average of 52%, demonstrating the value of coordinated, community-led support in improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities for families.

Helping with Smokefree Beginnings

Since 2018, the Greater Manchester Smokefree Pregnancy Programme has transformed maternity care across the region, reducing smoking at delivery from 13% to 5.9% and supporting more than 7,000 additional babies to be born smokefree. Through early intervention, universal carbon monoxide screening, specialist midwifery-led stop smoking support, and a new digital platform that streamlines care, the programme has created a consistent, evidence-based model now adopted nationally. This coordinated approach demonstrates how system-wide collaboration, behavioural support and tailored interventions can deliver measurable public health impact for families and future generations.

The Real Picture of Childhood Obesity in Greater Manchester

Read the story of change about The Real Picture which was launched in response to the continuing rise in childhood obesity rates across Greater Manchester. This was a bold and wide reaching public engagement consultation with a clear goal — to build public support, explore the real drivers behind childhood obesity, and work with communities to develop actionable, people-powered solutions. Read on to find out about what they did, how they did it, the findings as well as the key challenges and lessons learned.

Breathe Better Get-Togethers

Since summer 2023, Manchester Active and the NHS Community Respiratory Team have run monthly Breathe Better Get-Togethers to support people in Manchester living with COPD. These relaxed, clinician-supported sessions offer social, physical and educational activities to help attendees stay active and informed. Proactive GP invitations and community partnerships have boosted participation, with many first-time attendees going on to join pulmonary rehab. The programme shows how a friendly, community-based approach can help people breathe better, feel connected and live well with COPD.

Henshaws’ First Step Telephone Helpline

In partnership with the NHS Greater Manchester Mental Wellbeing programme, Henshaws created a new proactive referral model that ensures people newly diagnosed with a visual impairment receive timely, specialist support without needing to self-refer. By encouraging professionals to make direct referrals, the helpline reached 678 individuals in its first year, connecting a wider and more diverse community to life-changing support. The model has proven more compassionate and cost-effective, reducing inequalities in access, improving mental wellbeing, and easing pressure on NHS services. Now embedded into Henshaws’ way of working, this proactive approach demonstrates how community-led, data-informed interventions can help people regain confidence, independence, and hope at the point of diagnosis.