AQW 37120/22-27

Mr Eóin Tennyson
Alliance Party
Upper Bann

Tabled Date: 09/12/2025
Answered On Date: 29/12/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail any progress on the three-year strategic plan for health and social care published in December 2024, including the outcome to expand the bowel screening programme, subject to additional funding, by April 2027.

Answer:

The three-year strategic plan, published in December 2024, sets a clear direction for the reform of Northern Ireland’s Health & Social Care System over a three-year period to March 2027. This plan should be read in conjunction with the HSC Reset Plan, published in July 2025, which commits to reconfiguring and resetting our system to ensure we can continue to deliver high quality health & social care in the most efficient, effective & sustainable way possible.

Notable progress has been made on the delivery of the Three-Year plan, including:

In Elective Care, since March 2025, 164,000 red flag and time critical patients have been seen, diagnosed or treated; the number of patients waiting over four years for an outpatient assessment reduced by 35% and the number of patients waiting for an inpatient or day case procedure reduced by 47%. Furthermore, 70,000 Elective Care interventions are on track to be delivered by March 2026 in line with the Programme for Government commitment.

A further £61m investment is planned into the Primary Care Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT) programme to expand the range of services available in primary care over the next 4 years and help address the high levels of demand in GP Practices. The implementation of the MDT model across 126 GP practices will increase access for 845,398 (42% of the NI Population) patients to one or more core MDT services across NI.

The plan also commits to tackling health inequalities. Under the ‘Making Life Better’ Programme, two pilots in Belfast and Londonderry have concluded. Evaluation suggests that 78% of those who attended a health check reported an increased awareness of how to improve their health, 80% reported they were more likely to make changes to improve their health, 75% felt motivated to access the health care they need and 75% had increased awareness of health services in their local area. A thematic report considering all the findings and the way forward is due to be published in early 2026, the results of which will feed into the ongoing development of the neighbourhood model of care.

In terms of the expansion of the Bowel Screening Programme specifically, work is progressing to bring our arrangements in line with UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation, and the ambition laid out in the NI Cancer Strategy (2022-32). The Public Health Agency has commenced a project with the aim of producing a business case and implementation plan for the expansion of the Bowel Screening Programme, reducing age eligibility from aged 60 currently to aged 50. The business case is expected to be submitted this month (December 2025).