The partnership created by Manchester Clinical Commissioning Group and Manchester City Council, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning, had hoped to award a new £6bn contract to a consortium of community providers in April. However, minutes of a committee meeting leaked to HSJ reveal various concerns were raised about the timeline, with senior figures describing it as “unrealistic”.

An MHCC spokeswoman told HSJ a “local care organisation” formed between the group of providers, including Manchester University Foundation Trust, the council and local GP federations, will still go live from April. But she confirmed services will be provided through “existing contracts and partnership agreements”.