A new three-year strategic plan for health and social care in Northern Ireland that aims to manage current budget and staffing challenges was launched this week.

NI Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, who launched the plan, said: 鈥淚 believe this three-year plan will make a significant contribution by indicating my direction of travel to secure better outcomes for staff, patients, service users and the population at large.

鈥淚 am acutely aware of the intense pressures on staff and the serious shortfalls in provision across the system. Stabilisation was the only viable option for this year, given the budget and other resource and workforce restraints."

Putting health and social care on a sustainable path聽

The plan provides a roadmap putting health and social care on a more sustainable path through three central themes: stabilisation, reform and delivery.

The hope is this will improve health outcomes through a range of new public health commitments including: a focus on tackling waiting lists, further reform to deliver a more rapid response through primary and community settings as well as a new focus on addressing health inequalities.

Unfortunately, it says that that funding isn't available to deliver the 35 actions set out in the Mental Health Strategy 2021-31.

Concern over shortfall in funding for mental health

Steve Mulligan, our Four Nations lead, said:

鈥淲e are fully supportive of the plan鈥檚 ambition to vastly improve the capability and responsiveness of health and social care in Northern Ireland, and the prioritisation of mental health, but are concerned that the continued shortfall in funding of the Mental Health Strategy is a significant barrier to its success, particularly in light of the significant levels of unmet need.鈥�

"We also welcome the increased focus on providing more responsive delivery through primary and community settings and urge the Department and Health Boards to work with us to help unlock the expertise and capacity of our members across health, community and education settings in Northern Ireland. The counselling professions could play an important role in helping to provide an expanded offer of support which helps to address increased demand and ultimately deliver better health outcomes for individuals and wider society.鈥�

New commitments highlighted in the plan include:

  • Challenging Health and Social Care Trusts to deliver 46,000 additional outpatient assessments and 11,000 additional treatments annually by 2027;
  • Publishing a plan by April 2025 for the completion of the multi-disciplinary team model for general practice across all areas of Northern Ireland;
  • Implementing new models for delivery of home care services, learning disability services and children鈥檚 social care services, as well as a regionally consistent contract for care home placements;
  • Bringing forward a new Obesity Strategic Framework for Northern Ireland;
  • Implementing the NI provisions in the UK Government鈥檚 Tobacco and Vapes Bill;
  • Bringing forward proposals for Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol;
  • Embedding the new Live Better initiative on health inequalities.

You can on the NI Department of Health's website.