Health Minister Mike Nesbitt is asking the population of Northern Ireland to help him turn around the health service by taking better care of their own health and well-being.

The Minister warned that unless individuals take steps to look after their own health, the health service will face ongoing challenges in coping with demand.

Minister Nesbitt delivered this message recently while speaking at the launch of a walking football charity event in Lisburn, where he also participated.

"It was great to be able to not only attend this event, but to take part as well. We are fortunate in NI to have a great many sporting and activity organisations for all ages," the Minister said.

Referencing his own publicly known health struggles, Minister Nesbitt added: "I am challenging myself and everyone else to try to be a bit more active in our daily lives. The benefits to individuals are clear, in terms of physical and mental well-being. However, it's also important to society as a whole."

He noted that while he is investing significant sums to tackle hospital waiting lists, health services globally are struggling to match the growing demand for care as people live longer lives. "My ambition as Health Minister includes moving focus from treating the sick to helping to keep healthy people healthy. That's a challenge for us all across Government, as we need to ensure our environment supports and enables good health and wellbeing. It's also a challenge for individuals. Without a collective effort to take care of our health, services will always have difficulty keeping up with growing pressures," Minister Nesbitt stated.

He emphasised the personal responsibility involved: "There's therefore an onus on each of us to look after our health and well-being as much as possible. That's not just for our own sake but also to help reduce levels of demand for care and ensure our health service can thrive into the future."

Concluding, the Minister said: "While I am very much focussed on improving health services and reducing health inequalities, we also need at the same time to encourage improvements in the health of the population."

The walking football marathon event attended by the Minister was organised by Hillsborough Walking Football Club for men and women over 50 and raised money for the charity Eager Belvoirs Special Olympics Club. Minister Nesbitt has previously spoken publicly about his heart problems diagnosed in 2016.

The Public Health Agency provides advice on different ways to look after your health and be more active, which can be found at www.choosetolivebetter.com/getting-active and www.choosetolivebetter.com/.