June 29, 2026
Stakeholders from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, the community and voluntary sector, and primary care are working together to deliver a more integrated approach to mental health services.
Central to this work will be the development of the Northern Area Mental Health Collaborative Board (NAMHCB), which will help drive collaboration, improve coordination, and strengthen the delivery of mental health services across the Northern area.
Dr Petra Corr, the Northern HSC Trust’s Director of Mental Health, Learning Disability and Psychological Services, said: “This collaboration is a partnership between people with lived experience, the community and voluntary sector and our primary care colleagues. All partners are committed to ensuring a broad range of perspectives inform the development of the Board.’
“We are very grateful to everyone who attended our recent planning workshop in Ballymena and our previous engagement opportunities. We share a common understanding that a more integrated approach to mental health services is essential if we are to truly meet the needs of our population, and we are encouraged by the progress made to date.
“The establishment of the Board reflects our belief that mental health begins at neighbourhood level and by working together, we are demonstrating a shared commitment to delivering more joined-up, accessible mental health services.”
The Northern Area Mental Health Collaborative will act as an overarching partnership body, focused on planning and delivering mental health services that are centred on service users and delivered effectively across primary, secondary, community, and voluntary sectors.
At its core, the Collaborative will:
- Bring together key partners from across sectors, alongside people with lived experience, to share insights on local needs and priorities
- Agree and take forward collective actions to improve mental health outcomes for the population
- Strengthen collaboration by aligning and enhancing existing services, identifying gaps, and exploring opportunities to secure additional resources to meet unmet need
Partners will also explore how to embed this model of partnership working, support improved outcomes at local level, and ensure alignment with both existing and emerging service models.
Pictured at the Northern Area Mental Health Collaborative Board (NAMHC) workshop are, back row, Dr Alan Lewis and Dr Jeevan Jayaprakash, middle row William Gould (Rehability), Dr Petra Corr (the Northern Trust’s Director of Mental Health, Learning Disability and Community Wellbeing Services), Helen McNally (Public Health Agency), Jackie McCaughey (MindWise), Sharon McVicker (Northern GP Federation Mental Health Manager), Sharon Bingham (Northern Trust Service Improvement Manager), front row: Hannah Bowyer (Building Communities Resource Centre), Emma Robinson (Team Leader Ballymena CMHT), Cathy Malcolm (Service User Consultant), Caroline King (Department of Health Mental Health Lead), Jen Hood (Northern Trust Assistant Director, Mental Health Services).