That's the message from Health Minister today, as he announced a
series of planned initiatives over the next six months.
These include:
- A ‘Live Better' initiative on health inequalities, designed
to bring targeted health support to communities which need it
most. This will seek to pull programmes together so that they can
be delivered intensively in specific communities. It will cover
areas such as: increasing uptake of health screening and
vaccination; mental health and emotional well-being support;
blood pressure and cholesterol checks; building health literacy;
improving social connections; providing nutritional advice; and
providing opportunities to be more physically active.
- A plan for hospital reconfiguration will be published for
public consultation this summer. The paper, ‘Towards a Hospital
Network' will provide the basis for current and future
reorganisation of hospital services.
- A three-year strategic plan for health and social care will
be published in the autumn, covering the remainder of the current
Assembly mandate.
- To help refocus and “reboot” health reform, Professor Rafael
Bengoa will return to Northern Ireland in the autumn for a
keynote conference and a series of other engagements. An
international health expert, Professor Bengoa chaired the panel
that produced the 2016 “Systems not Structures” report on
changing health and social care.
The Health Minister today stated: “I am very pleased Professor
Bengoa has accepted my invitation for a visit in the autumn. This
is not about yet another review of our health service. It's about
helping us assess the important work already undertaken and
underway and identifying the key strands of action now required.
It is about finding the best ways to accelerate the process of
change.
“I believe Professor Bengoa will help reboot the public debate on
health reform. Unfortunately, that debate has become increasingly
distorted, with reform too often misconstrued as a cost cutting
programme, or a plan to close hospitals. This is damaging the
objective of genuine reform which is to deliver better outcomes.”
Mr Nesbitt continued: “Addressing health inequalities must be at
the heart of health reform and a priority across all parts of
Government.
“They are a symptom of the wider inequalities that exist in
society. Research indicates that only about 20% of health
outcomes are related to clinical care. Other crucial factors
include economic disadvantage, environment, education and
housing.
“Based on data from England, it is estimated
that health inequalities cost Northern Ireland up to £1.7 billion
every year including health costs, lost productivity, economic
inactivity, poor educational outcomes.
“Above all, my concern is about the impact this has on people in
our community.
“To give one shocking example, how can it ever be acceptable that
women in our most deprived communities can expect to live 14
fewer years in good health than those in the least deprived
communities? A quarter of the way into the 21st
Century, this is simply not acceptable in a first world country.”
The Health Minister has detailed his initiatives for health and
social care in a Written Ministerial Statement to the Assembly.
The Ministerial Statement also provides an update on the
Department of Health's response to the Independent Review of
Children's Social Care Services in Northern Ireland.
The Department is today publishing a summary and analysis of the
responses to the public consultation on this Review.
This will be followed in the autumn by publication of the
Minister's formal response to the Review's recommendations.
The Minister will also be engaging with Executive colleagues on
the Review's recommendations that are cross-cutting and relate to
the policy responsibilities of other Departments. These include
recommendations relating to the establishment of a Children and
Families Arm's Length Body (ALB), the appointment of a Minister
for Children and Families, the expansion of the Sure Start
Programme and the Gillen Review of Civil and Family Justice.
Notes to editors:
- The Written Ministerial Statement can be found online:
DoH Ministerial
announcements and statements 2024 | Department of Health
(health-ni.gov.uk)
- The plan for Hospital Reconfiguration has been finalised
after extensive work and will be published this summer for public
consultation. A central theme of the document is that while each
existing hospital has a key role to play, every hospital cannot
provide every service.
- The proposal will therefore categorise our hospitals into
four specific types, operating as an integrated whole. These are:
local hospitals, general hospitals, area hospitals and regional
centres.
- The three-year Strategic Plan for Health and Social Care will
focus on the three themes of Stabilisation, Reform and Delivery.
Its overriding objective will be better outcomes for patients and
all those who use and depend on services.
- Independent Review of Children's Social Care Services
Consultation Report can be found online: Consultation on
Recommendations of Independent Review of Children's Social Care
Services in Northern Ireland | Department of Health
(health-ni.gov.uk)
