By Iain Gray
NEW Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has announced a six-month plan to boost the NHS.
The Strangford MLA, who took over the position after predecessor Robin Swann stepped down to mount a successful Westminster campaign, last week said he’s going to launch a new strategy to overhaul hospitals across Northern Ireland.
He’s also bringing back Professor Rafael Bengoa, author of a report to massively overhaul the NHS that was never brought into effect, to hold a series of engagements including a conference on local health care.
This autumn, Mr Nesbitt is going to release a new three-year plan setting out what the Assembly will do with the health sector for the remainder of its current term.
And he’s introducing a ‘live better’ campaign addressing health inequalities, which is designed to pull programmes together to boost delivery in specific communities.
The ‘live better campaign’, it’s stated, will involve increasing health screening and vaccinations, boosting support for mental health and emotional well-being, raising awareness of blood pressure and cholesterol checks, and improving social connections.
It will also seek to improve fitness by providing nutritional advice and opportunities to be more physically active.
Said Mr Nesbitt: “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.
“It is estimated that health inequalities cost Northern Ireland up to £1.7 billion every year, including health costs, lost productivity, economic inactivity, and 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.”
Turning to the return of Professor Bengoa, the minister reinforced that the rebooted strategies scheduled for this autumn are ‘not about yet another review of our health service’.
He said: 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.”
