AQW 5941/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 08/02/2024
Answered On Date: 15/02/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health what action his Department has undertaken in response to the finding by the Office for Statistics Regulation, in 2021, that there are limitations in mental health data in Northern Ireland.

Answer:

DoH recognises the importance of having robust data systems in place to ensure that data is accessible, usable and can act as a strategic asset for decision making, policy development and to support the delivery of services. Reflecting this need, in 2022 DoH published a Data Strategy for Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI) 2022-2030, which outlines the vision, mission and objectives for data and information for health and social care up to 2030. A copy of the Strategy is available on the publications section of the DoH website. Implementation of this Data Strategy, which is subject to resource availability, will help ensure development of robust datasets across health and social care, including for mental health services, and is aligned to the Office for Statistics Regulation’s recommendation.

Action 34 of the Mental Health Strategy commits to the development of a Regional Outcomes Framework in collaboration with service users and professionals, to underpin and drive service development and delivery. Considerable work has been progressed to develop the Regional Outcomes Framework, informed by input from, and engagement with, a wide range of stakeholders including health care providers, statisticians, academia, carers, and service users, in line with the Mental Health Strategy’s principles for co-production and co-design. The Framework was finalised in October 2022 and implementation is currently underway, aligned to the delivery of the Encompass project.

Once fully implemented, the Outcomes Framework will help ensure that the collection of robust data to enable outcomes measurement is firmly embedded in the delivery of mental health services. In the interim, improvements are being taken forward to improve accessibility to mental health data, for example through more effective signposting of mental health information on the DoH website.