Three-year health plan includes ‘good deal’ on staff pay

Securing a “good deal” on staff pay for 2024/25 is among the health minister’s new three-year strategic plan for health and social care in Northern Ireland.

Mike Nesbitt also told the assembly that a consultation will lay out the Department of Health’s proposals to make the Serious Adverse Incident process fit for purpose.

The plan involves a range of initiatives based around stabilising, reforming and delivering services, but lacks detail on how it will be paid for.

The minister said the pace of progress would be heavily influenced by future budget settlements and “successful partnership” with the Executive.

The plan will also look at tackling obesity and advance proposals for an organisational duty of candour, as well as considering proposals for an individual duty of candour.

Nesbitt said he believed the plan would make a significant contribution as it indicates his direction of travel to secure better outcomes for staff, patients and service users.

“I 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.

“The purpose of this plan, however, is not about what we cannot achieve – it is about improving the health and wellbeing of our population and making our health and social care services the best they can be. It is about hope and ambition,” the minister added.

Speaking in the assembly on Tuesday, SDLP assembly member Colin McGrath asked Nesbitt if he agrees that a “concrete, tangible, fully funded, time-bound and full Executive supported programme” is needed to “make the changes that we need and to save our health service”.

Responding, Nesbitt said that “in terms of definites, you will have noticed me say that I have set a target of an additional 46,000 outpatient assessments and 11,000 treatments by 2027”.

“So, there is some concrete, time-bound detail within that plan. Of course I would like more, I think everybody would like more but this is the real world,” he said.

Nesbitt confirmed that he will be meeting with trade unions later on Tuesday.

In a response to a question by UUP MLA Alan Chambers, Nesbitt said that it is his “intent” that “all things being equal” when the pay bodies make their recommendations for pay for financial year 2025/26 that he “will accept them and begin the implementation of those awards with immediate effect”.

Analysis from Marie-Louise Connolly, BBC News NI health correspondent

This reads like the health minister’s Christmas wish list.

It’s an ambitious plan without targets or costings.

On a positive note, it’s good to see, pay, social care and health inequalities making the cut.

But how will all this be financed? Isn’t that key?

Mike Nesbitt highlights how quickly he can deliver all this will be heavily influenced by budget settlements.

While that’s the case for every Executive department, after weeks of revelations about health buildings haemorrhaging money, the Department of Health has a tougher case to argue.

The Christmas season has provided a backdrop for several ministers to release their wish list – while it’s a time for magic there needs to be a dose of harsh reality too.

The three-year plan sets out a series of initiatives to improve the health care system, including:

• Bringing forward a new obesity strategy framework

• Implementing provisions in NI on the UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill

• Proposing minimum unit pricing for alcohol

• Initiative on health inequalities

• New lung and expanded bowel screening programmes

• Health and Social care trusts to deliver 46,000 additional outpatient assessments and 11,000 additional treatments by 2027

• Publish plan to complete Multi-Disciplinary team model for GPs across NI by April 2025

• Implement new home care services, learning disability services and children’s social care services, including consistent care home placements

• Pay for independent adult social care sector to be the same as real living wage sector

• Reform neurology and stroke services with proposals subject to public consultations

• Reform pathology services and establish a single management structure for pathology and blood transfusion services

• Reviews on breast cancer and radiotherapy services and inform how best to deliver them in the future

• Initiatives on quality and safety of health services, including a consultation on the departments proposals to make the Serious Adverse Incident process fit for purpose