Call for Evidence - Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Model of Care

Overview

Almost a year ago the Health Minister published Health and Social Care NI – A Three Year Plan to Stabilise, Reform and Deliver’ setting out his vision to rebalance health and social care delivery and provide more care closer to home.  Reform in primary, social and community care was identified as a key enabler to create capacity within the system to better manage acute and chronic needs, reduce reliance on secondary care and facilitate a preventative approach to health and social care that supports people to stay well for longer.

Delivering upon this agenda requires a focus on how, where, and by whom care is best delivered and approaches that both mobilise and optimise the impact of existing skills, capacity and assets within Health and Social Care (HSC), Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) and other place-based organisations.

It means developing new partnerships and ways of working at neighbourhood level to understand how services can be designed and delivered to best serve communities, based upon their specific needs and reflecting the resources available to them. Recognising that in many cases health outcomes are influenced by social determinants like housing, poverty and social isolation which connected neighbourhood models could be better positioned to address.

In July 2025 the Health Minister published the Health and Social Care NI Reset Plan which includes the following commitment to neighbourhood care:

By March 2026, working with partners we will have developed a new neighbourhood model for primary, community and social care, which will deliver greater levels of care for citizens, including children and families, in their communities, alongside a funding plan to support delivery from April 2026. This model will see Community Pharmacy, GPs and their Federations, Voluntary and Community organisations, Trusts, independent providers, other statutory bodies and Local Government working closely together in formal partnership to provide integrated care.

Neighbourhood Models of Care

Neighbourhood models of care aim to enhance the coordination of health and social care, community care and other services at a local level for better health outcomes, reducing duplication and improving access with a patient centred focus. Neighbourhoods involve alliances of service providers which may include combinations of primary, community and social care, VCSE, Trusts, independent sector, other statutory bodies, and local government. Neighbourhood models enable providers to come together, to improve how services are delivered, with a common or aligned purpose that can impact on:

1. Improved Health Outcomes
   • Reliable access for same-day urgent care.
   • Better management of long-term conditions through whole system collaboration and more care closer to home.
   • A focus on preventative healthcare, earlier detection of illness.
   • Higher uptake of vaccination and screening programmes.
   • A focus on harm reduction and avoidance.
2. Greater Patient and Carer Satisfaction
   • People feel listened to and receive coordinated care that is respectful of their preferences.
3. Reduced GP referrals, unplanned Hospital Admissions, GP Out of Hours (OOH) and Emergency Department (ED) Use
   • More care delivered in the community, fewer crises, shorter hospital stays.
   • More care provided in working hours, reducing pressure on OOH and ED services.
4. More Efficient and Sustainable Use of Resources
   • Less duplication in services and roles, fewer gaps in care, better value for money.
   • Reduced use of resources like medicines and diagnostics.
   • Invest to save approaches with cost savings channelled back into growth.
   • A focus on reducing waste, lowering environmental impact and making green choices.
5. Stronger Community Resilience
   • Empowered communities and individuals engaged in health and wellbeing.
   • Holistic approaches to tackling health inequalities.
   • Boost the local workforce by supporting individuals into employment and catalysing local economic regeneration.

Why your views matter

The Department of Health welcomes your input to the development of a Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Model of Care through this Call for Evidence. We invite you to share your experience of approaches that have brought alliances of service providers together in response to a specific need within a neighbourhood here.

We would like to hear from organisations, individuals and researchers who have led or been involved in these initiatives, including those from primary, community and social care, VCSE, Trusts, independent sector, other statutory bodies and local government.