Plans to drive forward reform of adult social care published
Date published:
The Department of Health has published a 10-year strategic plan to deliver much needed reform within adult social care.
An initial delivery plan has also been published setting out what actions will be taken over the next three years, along with timeframes for delivery.
The aim of these plans is to reform how adult social care and support is delivered and experienced across Northern Ireland with a focus on independence, choice, equity, quality, innovation, prevention, early intervention, and preparedness for the future, to enable people in need of care and support to live fulfilling lives in their communities.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said:
“The severe pressures within adult social care and support services in Northern Ireland are well known.
“Challenges with workforce recruitment and retention, increased demand for social care services, greater complexity of need, and delayed hospital discharges are leading to growing pressure on budgets and impacting on the capacity of services to respond to need.
“We therefore can’t just keep doing more of the same. We need different approaches, including a greater focus on earlier preventative measures and more community-based support, as well as finding more efficient ways to deliver services including throughthe use of technology where appropriate. We also need to focus on ways of attracting, retaining, supporting and developing the social care workforce. My Department has already published a 10-year Social Care Workforce Strategy, and I remain fully committed to funding the Real Living Wage at the earliest affordable opportunity.
“The plans that my Department have published today are intended to deliver the vital reform needed to respond to this complex combination of challenges.
“The plans are a careful balance of ambition and realism in the current financial climate. We have sought to prioritise actions which we consider are either the most necessary or have the potential to have the greatest impact.”
They include:
• Undertaking an examination of the current approach to the delivery of Homecare to determine what changes can/should be made to better meet the needs of those with care and support needs;
• Working to develop a comprehensive preventative adult care/support framework that will help enable people to remain safe, healthy, well and with purpose in the place they call home;
• Fully embracing and maximising the capability of digital/technology/AI solutions to support traditional social care service delivery options, including harnessing the potential of assistive and adaptive technology to enable people to exercise choice and control over their care and support;
• Improving the uptake of Self-Directed Support (SDS) options.
Minister Nesbitt added:
“Social care is fundamentally preventative in nature and therefore is a vital element of my shift left vision and Neighbourhood Model of care.
“It plays a critical role in maintaining the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities by addressing needs early and reducing reliance on and demand for more intensive and more expensive health and social care services.
“These plans taken together provide a roadmap for the reform of our social care system over the next decade. Success will depend on close partnership and cooperation from both the statutory and independent sectors, and of course, a collective willingness to advance the reform agenda.
“I am confident, however, that with the required commitment and leadership, we can ensure we have a person-centred, strengths-based social care sector that is fit for the future and capable of providing better outcomes for all.”
Both the 10-year Strategic Plan and the three-year Delivery Plan can be read in full here.
Notes to editors:
- The Strategic and Delivery Plans were agreed and signed off by members of the Social Care Collaborative Forum (SCCF), which is now known as the Social Care Collaborative Reform Board (SCCRB). It will oversee, guide, direct and facilitate implementation of the plans with a strong focus on reform/transformation. Implementation Groups will work in partnership with the Department to support the implementation of the Delivery Plan, including providing advice and acting as a conduit to relevant parts of the adult social care system where necessary.
- The Department of Health established the Social Care Collaborative Forum (SCCF) in 2023 to provide strategic advice and guidance on adult social care and to take forward agreed actions to support improvement.
- The Strategic Plan contains six priorities. These include ensuring the citizen is at the heart of decision making, providing support to unpaid carers, a focus on prevention and early intervention, examining the current approach to homecare and care homes, investing in the workforce, and building a sustainable adult social care and support system.
- The Delivery Plan sets out 33 actions agreed for the first three years of the Strategic Plan (2025-2028) set against each of the six strategic priorities.
- For media enquiries please contact DoH Press Office by e-mail: pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk
- Follow us on: Facebook Department of Health NI , Instagram departmentofhealthni, X @healthdpt, LinkedIn Department of Health NI
- The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service For Media Enquiries Only between 1800 hrs and 0800 hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.