Health leaders in NI make crisis call for political consensus

On the eve of a new UK government, the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON) is calling for collective political support at Stormont and in Westminster to bring about the changes critically needed to rescue our beleaguered health and social care system.

Political consensus was reached previously with the Bengoa Expert Panel, leading to the publication of ‘Systems, Not Structures - Changing Health and Social Care’ in 2016. The requirement for political cohesiveness is now critical.

The HSC system is under greater pressure than ever before as it grapples with rising demand, longer waiting lists, and significant workforce pressures. Despite the welcome funding uplift from the June monitoring round, the current budgetary position will delay system progress. If there is prolonged political wrangling, this will result in further harm.

NICON represents the leaders of Health and Social Care (HSC) organisations in NI.

Our members have two key asks:

• Firstly, we ask for a creative approach to finding bridging funding to enable the delivery of three-year recovery plans, supporting a more strategic approach. Westminster should provide funding in line with need.
• Secondly, now the election is over, we call for political leaders to reach agreement to collectively drive forward the much needed suite of transformation initiatives at pace, including service reconfiguration.

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, NICON’s parent body, supports these asks. He said: “Political leadership at every level is key at this time - as is visionary leadership from senior leaders and partners. There is clear consensus on the way forward.  After years of talking and stop start government, there must now be a serious focus on taking action.”

Professor Mark Taylor, NICON Spokesperson and a transformation expert, explained: “We have a collective responsibility as leaders to highlight these concerns and potential solutions on behalf of our highly trained and dedicated workforce. We stand ready to engage with politicians and the public in the coming weeks as we work together to do all in our power to support the health and wellbeing of people in Northern Ireland. We can do better, so we should - anything else is unconscionable”.