Today (July 1) is the start of a new era as Oldham's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is replaced with a Greater Manchester-wide organisation.

The CCG, which was responsible for health services in the borough for almost 10 years, is now a part of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership alongside CCGs from all the other boroughs, as well as Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and Greater Manchester Shared Services, all of which were disbanded.

According to bosses, the changes are in line with the national Health and Care Act introduced earlier in 2022, and are intended to create better collaboration between services for people who use several at the same time.

There is still a local element to the organisation in the form of the Oldham Integrated Care Partnership, but the changes are supposed to lead to more economical, efficient and equitable health services at a regional level.

Many welcomed the arrival of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, which is led by ex-Grenfell Tower Inquiry lead Mark Fisher as chief executive and overseen by a board chaired by ex-Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese.

Sir Richard said: "This is a significant step forward for how we ensure the people we serve across the whole of Greater Manchester get equal access to the best possible health and care services.

"Thanks to the devolution arrangements given to our city region, we have already built a strong foundation of true partnership working and our teams will be no strangers to working together for the benefit of our people."

However, not all are impressed with the organisation, and in particular with an alleged lack of consultation.

A protest organised by Greater Manchester Keep Our NHS Public is planned outside Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership's headquarters in the city centre.

A spokesperson said: "We will be protesting at the secrecy and lack of public involvement and information about this new body, and about the potential increased involvement of the private sector in providing NHS-funded services and running the NHS itself."

They added Keep Our NHS Public has written to Sir Richard about their concerns, although with no response.