Northern Ireland's health and social care services are entering what Health Minister Mike Nesbitt describes as a "watershed year," as he unveiled a comprehensive reset plan designed to navigate significant challenges and seize crucial opportunities.

At the heart of the document is a commitment to establishing a neighbourhood-centred system, aiming to bring more health and social care services directly into local communities.

The plan also directly addresses the unprecedented financial pressures facing the sector, detailing measures to bridge a projected £600 million gap between available funding and the cost of maintaining existing services for the current year. This 'reset' builds upon the key themes of 'Stabilisation, Reform, and Delivery' from the three-year strategic plan published by the Minister in December 2024.

Minister Nesbitt emphasised the critical nature of the period ahead. "This is a defining and watershed year for our health service. We have to deliver on reform and waiting list investment, while at the same time securing efficiencies and savings on a scale not seen before. There are both challenges and opportunities of huge significance," he stated. He reiterated that concrete progress on neighbourhood care, bringing services as close as possible to people’s front doors, must be central to the reform agenda, including a new model of primary care and early intervention to tackle health inequalities.

The reset plan outlines what is described as "the most ambitious efficiency programme" in the history of Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care system. This programme is designed to achieve £300 million in savings during the 2025/26 financial year, building on the £200 million delivered in 2024/25.

To achieve these significant efficiencies, the programme will involve a suite of actions, including improving Trust financial controls, reducing locum and agency costs, increasing workforce availability through absence reduction, removing unwarranted variation in clinical care and procurement, optimising medicines spend, reducing central budgets and administrative costs, and maximising income through research and innovation.

The Minister confirmed that the plan introduces new structures to enable Health and Social Care Trusts to make shared decisions on a 'whole system' basis. Additionally, a new approach to Systems Financial Management is being implemented, focusing on deficit reduction and driving efficiencies across all levels of the system. This work is being progressed through a Systems Management Oversight Group led by Permanent Secretary Mike Farrar, aimed at delivering immediate budget savings and building long-term financial sustainability.