Primary care | shaping our framework for the future: NICON webinar report

Background

On 26 May 2026, NICON held a webinar to explore the future of primary care in Northern Ireland. We considered how primary care can be placed right at the heart of the 'Reset' of the NI Health and Social Care (HSC) system.

The session featured insights from expert speakers, including Gearoid Cassidy, Director of Primary Care, Department of Health (DOH); Siobhan McEntee, Lead, Northern Ireland Primary Care Network; and Ruth Rankine, Director of Primary & Community Care and Neighbourhood Health, The NHS Alliance. We also heard case studies from members of the NI Primary Care Network.

This webinar was held as part of NICON’s 'Reset' discussion series, which will run throughout 2026.

Key points

• Primary care is increasingly being understood as a central player in how care is being delivered and sustained across the Health and Social Care system in Northern Ireland.
• This webinar looked at the ‘Reset’ journey so far, providing an opportunity to reflect on the shift by drawing together policy direction, frontline experience and emerging examples of service redesign. It’s clear that we are all part of a system in transition: one where neighbourhood-based approaches are taking shape, and primary care is being asked to play a more active role in managing need, improve access and support prevention.
• There is a continuing alignment around the direction of travel, as outlined by Gearóid Cassidy (Department of Health), with the development of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams representing a key step in moving from design to implementation and creating structures through which services can be organised around population need. Strengthening collaborations across primary care professions, alongside a focus on care closer to home, is also beginning to signal towards a more integrated model of delivery.
• At the same time however, progress remains at an early and uneven stage with many emerging examples reflecting local innovation and partnership working rather than consistent system-wide approaches... so while there is evidence of change, it is not yet systematically embedded.
• The challenge now is less about defining our ambitions and more about sustaining it, and ensuring that what is already working can be supported, scaled and integrated into routine delivery. This will require alignment across workforce, funding, data and partnerships, alongside the continued focus on the needs of local communities.