Speaking after a Health Committee meeting, the Minister said that changing the way people interact with the health service will give them greater control over their lives and more independence.
He said: “Health services in Northern Ireland are changing. As more people live longer demand for services will increase dramatically placing huge pressure on the system. Medical advances will introduce more new treatments and specialist drugs which will transform patients’ lives.
“How are we going to meet these challenges? Currently almost 80% of spending on healthcare relates to people with long-term conditions such as diabetes, these patients use more than 60% of hospital bed days. Rising obesity levels and increased levels of binge drinking are resulting in significant health problems for adults and children and will place further pressure on health services.
“Encouraging people to change their lifestyles and take more responsibility for their health will help but we need a decade of behavioural change before we will see a real difference. We need to identify, support and treat people earlier and ensure those people who need long-term treatment have care plans that fully meet their needs. I want to empower people so that they have the support and care they need to live safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible.
“Too many people still end up in hospital unnecessarily but often they cannot be discharged because the right community-based services are not in place. By ensuring our health services are joined-up, and nurses, doctors and community services work together; we can deliver the support and care our people need.”
Turning to hospital services, the Minister said we must be able to meet the rising demands for frontline services. He continued:
“Patient expectations of health services are rising and they deserve the very best care and treatment we can provide. Specialist drugs must be available to our patients. We must have enough skilled and experienced staff to provide these services.
“Great progress has been made in reducing waiting lists but I want to see them fall even further. I also want to see:
- A reduction in the number of heart-related deaths
- Stroke patients treated in a specialist unit with access to support within three hours of having a stroke
- Continuing improvements in five-year survival rates for cancer patients, and
- Additional dialysis stations for kidney patients.”
Implementing the Suicide Prevention strategy and re-shaping mental health services so that people have rapid access to specialist support services in their community must happen quickly, the Minster said:
“One in four of our population will suffer from mental health problems at some point in their life. Too many people are taking their own lives. It is vital that services are in place to help them. GPs need better training, we need more crisis response and home treatment teams and we must improve access to therapies.
“Learning disability services must also be reformed so that people do not spend long periods in hospitals. Work must continue in building up services in the community so that the right facilities are in place, providing the very specialised care that so many people with learning disabilities require.”
Currently the prospects for children leaving residential care are poor compared to those living in a family setting. The Minister continued: “The Care Matters Strategy needs to be fully implemented. I want to see the number of children and young people in care reduced by 20% and a doubling of the number of care leavers in education or training at age 19.
“Delivering a world class health service means that patients must come first and our health service staff must be well-trained, skilled and motivated. There is still much we need to do to improve our health service but we must not forget what has been achieved through the hard work and efforts of our staff.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
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