The Mancunian Way: Barbie vs Bar-bee

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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:

Hello,

Eric Jackson - the Manchester artist known for his cheeky posters celebrating Greater Manchester - got in touch with a new artwork last night.

"I always vowed I’d never do a Manchester bee poster, and I certainly never anticipated doing one relating to Barbie. But there you go, I woke up in the morning with an idea and by 4pm it was all done,” he wrote.

Though the poster is topical, it also celebrates Eric’s home city in a way we haven’t seen before. It’s available to buy here.

In today’s newsletter, we’ll be discussing the stark financial picture of our region’s NHS system, the underground fire that’s been blazing for two years and the estate where neighbours can hear scratching in the walls.

Greater Manchester Integrated Care System is £86.5m in deficit in its third month of annual financial reporting, it has emerged. As such, NHS leaders are being forced to step in.

The ICS is responsible for paying for, planning and delivering health and care needs, including most NHS services in the area. Stark figures were presented to leaders at the latest finance committee this week, as health reporter Helena Vesty writes.

Bosses say the deficit follows ‘unplanned industrial action, and agency and bank costs above plan’. The shortfall has prompted ‘additional scrutiny’ from NHS England which could become a full-scale intervention if Greater Manchester does not demonstrate ‘fundamental improvements’.

The system was expected to have a deficit of £20m by July 2023. But the deficit