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Oldham residents can now tap into a single network that stitches together GPs, hospitals, council teams, police, fire crews, charities and local firms. The Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership says the aim is to spot problems earlier and keep people out of hospital where possible.

The shift means a teenager struggling with anxiety could be referred by their GP to a charity counsellor, while their school and police neighbourhood team are quietly looped in. Likewise, an older resident discharged from Royal Oldham can expect social-care visits, pharmacy checks and fire-service safety assessments to be co-ordinated through one shared record.

Practical help is already live. A new mapping project is also asking families to flag the parks, youth clubs and cafés where children feel most relaxed, so commissioners can protect or replicate those spaces.

Leaders insist the change is not another rebrand. They argue that pooling budgets and data across ten boroughs cuts duplicated tests, shortens waiting times and lets district nurses, mental-health workers and Job Centre coaches plan joint visits. Critics worry about data sharing and whether thin council budgets can match the ambition, but the partnership says residents can opt out of any element they are uncomfortable with.