Community care model proving ‘hugely successful’ in Causeway Coast and Glens
Members of the Causeway Hospital Partnership Board have hailed the success of a community model of care which is providing joined up, neighbourhood services for the local population.
At its latest meeting, the partnership was updated on the work of Causeway’s multidisciplinary team (MDT) which was established in January 2020 and is operational across 17 general practices in Causeway Coast and Glens.
The MDT is jointly run by the Northern Trust and Causeway GP Federation. Trust staff work closely with their GP colleagues to improve access and pathways to services including physiotherapy, mental health and social work.
Elizabeth Craig, social work lead with Causeway MDT, said: “The main objective of multidisciplinary teams is to improve the interface between primary and secondary care, and the community and voluntary sectors.
“There is a very strong emphasis on prevention and intervention and meeting a person’s needs at the earliest possible opportunity. We know that healthcare alone has a relatively small part in a person’s overall health and wellbeing; other factors such as employment, income, housing, education and lifestyle all play an important part.
“The model is also very much aimed at keeping people well in the community, and putting in those supports in a timely way so that we can help people, particularly those who are elderly or frail, to avoid hospital visits or stays.”
Over the last five years, the Causeway MDT has carried out more than 112,000 consultations and seen more than 32,000 patients, with the majority (75%) of consultations carried out face to face. Of those patients seen, just 4% needed to be referred into secondary care.
Gillian Traub, Director of Operations with the Northern Trust, said MDTs were key to reforming how services are delivered at a neighbourhood level.
She added: “A key focus of the Department of Health’s Reset Plan is on neighbourhood care and this is what Causeway MDT is doing so well already.
“Strengthening our links with the local community and delivering our services closer to home for people, is a big focus of our vision for Causeway, and our Causeway MDT plays a really vital role in that.
“Providing interventions and support at the right time means people are less likely to reach crisis point or have their health deteriorate to the extent where a secondary care pathway is the only option.”
The model also provides seed funding for 20 groups in the area that are supporting health priorities, including Age Concern Causeway.
Manager Mandy Corr said the working partnership with colleagues in primary care was invaluable and was helping to support people living with dementia to stay in their homes for as long as possible.
She added: “We are often so focussed on the buildings – the hospitals – but so much care sits outside of that. We all know that we need to reduce the reliance on acute care and the work we are doing is hugely supportive of that.
“There are real opportunities for us to work together and strengthen community-led care and Causeway MDT allows us to do that.”
Causeway Hospital Partnership Board was established in November 2024 with the aim of driving forward the Trust’s Vision for Causeway.
The Board brings together Trust staff and representatives from a number of partner and community organisations including charity and voluntary sector, community transport, service users and local council.
Co-chair and Northern Trust Non-Executive Director Kathy Mackenzie said: “It has been really wonderful to hear first-hand about this fantastic model of care that is operating in the Causeway area. This approach is proving to be a huge success; so much so, that the Trust is going to be rolling out another MDT in the East Antrim area and we hope to replicate the success there.
“Rethinking how we deliver our services, with a strong emphasis on community care, is a real driver for change and I’m pleased that the Northern Trust is at the forefront of that reform.”
3rd December 2025
