Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has introduced updated guidance to support effective and sustainable staffing levels within Northern Ireland's nursing and midwifery workforce. The refreshed Delivering Care Policy Framework establishes a regionally consistent approach to determining safe staffing and skill mixes across all nursing fields and midwifery.

The framework is designed to strengthen workload planning for Health and Social Care Trusts and commissioners, fostering a culture of safety while improving staff wellbeing. This marks the first significant update to the policy since its inception in 2014.

Minister Nesbitt highlighted that a re-examination of the 12-year-old framework was essential due to growing pressures on the health system, including an ageing population, complex care needs, and constrained budgets.

Minister Nesbitt stated: "These challenges highlight why workforce planning must be robust, evidence based, and future focused. Ensuring we have the right staff, with the right skills, in the right place at the right time, therefore remains fundamental to maintaining safety and quality and in meeting future demand."

He added: "This Framework makes clear that safe and effective staffing is not only a professional standard, but a strategic priority embedded throughout our system's governance." The refresh was led by Chief Nursing Officer Professor Maria McIlgorm, who convened a task and finish group in autumn 2023. The updated policy clarifies roles and accountabilities from "ward to board," providing tools to improve consistency across the region and preparing the sector for potential safe staffing legislation.

The revised accountability structure focuses on three key areas:

• Strengthening reporting mechanisms.

• Providing shared accountability.

• Reinforcing the importance of evidence to inform decision-making.

Under the new guidance, operational workforce planning remains the responsibility of Health and Social Care Trusts and independent employers. By placing these responsibilities closer to service delivery, the system aims to be more responsive to the specific health needs of local populations.

Professor Maria McIlgorm commented: "Within the Health & Social Care system, Nursing and Midwifery represent the largest segment of the workforce. Ensuring the right staff, equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, and professional values, and deployed effectively, is critical to meeting evolving challenges and delivering improved outcomes and experiences for the population of Northern Ireland."

She concluded: "We must prioritise workforce sustainability through effective recruitment and retention, valuing staff, and promoting wellbeing via robust workforce and workload planning and with clearly defined career pathways."