BPS responds to Northern Ireland three-year strategic plan for health and social care
The plan aims to manage current budget and staffing challenges and secure better outcomes for staff, patients, service users and the Northern Ireland population.
23 December 2024
It provides a roadmap putting health and social care on a more sustainable path through three central themes: stabilisation, reform and delivery with public health commitments including a focus on tackling waiting lists and further reform to deliver a more rapid response through primary and community settings, as well as a new focus on addressing health inequalities.
The BPS said it was good to see a realistic acknowledgement of the current financial challenges and the impact this has on service provision.
The society is pleased to see a focus on prevention and early intervention, and notes that poverty is one of the biggest impacts on health inequalities. It said a robust strategy for change was needed with collaboration across all areas of government.
The BPS also welcomed an explicit acknowledgement in the plan of the challenges and pressures facing mental health services in Northern Ireland.
However it is disappointing that despite these challenges, there is not the funding commitment to implement the Mental Health Strategy 2021-31, with the plan stating that the Department for Health will continue to prioritise actions from the plan which can be delivered.
Dr Geraldine O'Hare, chair of the BPS's Northern Ireland Branch, said:
"Northern Ireland has the highest prevalence of mental health problems in the UK, with around one-fifth of adults showing signs of a possible mental health problem.
"Therefore, while it is welcome to see mental health given a focus in the new plan, the funding shortfalls for the Mental Health Strategy are concerning and continue to be a barrier to its success.
"With growing numbers of people needing help, now is the time for more investment, not less to ensure we aren't dealing with the consequences of funding decisions for years to come.
"If we do not prioritise health and wellbeing from the perinatal period, and support good self-care through the lifespan, we are destined to require ever-growing complex physical and psychological health interventions and an ever-increasing budget for social care."
The BPS stressed that stabilisation requires significant investment in staffing, and in the development of new roles, not only across nursing and allied health professionals but also in the development of the psychological professions.
This was important not just for the delivery of the MH Strategy but also in other strategic contexts such as the development of an Obesity Strategy Framework and the reform of neurology and stroke services.