The Northern Health and Social Care Trust has launched its first Quality Strategy which sets out our ambition and strategic priorities to deliver high quality care over the next three years.

Our strategy has been developed against a challenging backdrop which requires daily innovation, standardisation and a focus on improvement. Financial issues and capacity issues will not be resolved quickly, but our aim is to continue to provide services that are clinically effective, safe, well-managed, responsive to service user needs, and offer a positive patient experience.

Engagement

Commenting on the strategy, Anne O’Reilly, Chair said: “This strategy defines our response as a Trust to deliver quality health and social care to meet the future needs of all our population.  We engaged extensively with service users, carers, partner organisations and staff who shared what matters to them and what we need to do to continuously improve.”

“Staff told us they want to make service users feel valued and heard, set clear expectations and involve service users and staff in all decisions around service delivery. There was a clear sense that we need to design our services with our service users’ needs in mind, and ensure that their lived experiences influence how we plan and deliver services for our community.”

Improvement

Jennifer Welsh, Chief Executive said: “The challenges facing our health and social care system are well documented. We know that waiting lists are too long, that we need to get the fundamentals of care right and that people should get the same standard of good care no matter where they are treated.”

“Our Quality Strategy sets out our commitment to continuous improvement within our Trust, striving to make services safer, improving outcomes, and for service users to have a positive experience of the services they receive.”

“The strategy provides a roadmap helping support and guide all our work towards a unified ambition and sustained improvement. We aim to use it as the foundation to inspire our staff to innovate, excel and seize the opportunities over the next three years.”

Northern Health and Social Care Trust Quality Strategy 2024-2027

A number of virtual information sessions will be held over the coming months for anyone with an interest in becoming a foster carer.

Across the Northern Trust area, there are children and young people who need a safe and loving foster home where they can develop and thrive.

The online sessions are designed to give an overview of fostering in an open and relaxed environment, with no expectations.

Explaining more, Marie McTaggart, Foster Care Recruitment & Training social worker, added: “Our latest figures show that there are currently 3155 children and young people who are reliant on foster care in Northern Ireland.

“Everyone deserves a stable home – a foster carer can offer that and make a positive and long-lasting impact on a child’s life.

“If you enjoy the company of children and young people we would love to hear from you. Foster carers come from all walks of life, offering a range of skills and experiences which can help each child or young person.

“Our virtual information sessions are a convenient way to find out more, without any commitment. They’re led by trained staff who have a wealth of insights to share and you’ll find out more about the support, training and financial assistance available for foster carers.

“If it’s something you’ve thought about in the past or if we’ve piqued your interest, then please come along to one of our upcoming sessions.”

Virtual information sessions are held on MS Teams and there’s no need to register in advance.

Afternoon sessions will take place on Wednesday 9 October and Wednesday 13 November from 1pm – 1.30pm.

Alternatively, evening sessions will take place on Wednesday 30 October, Wednesday 27 November and Wednesday 11 December from 7.30pm – 8.30pm.

You can join your preferred session using the Meeting ID 338 613 465 78 and Passcode FkjXs2.

For lots more useful information about fostering go to www.adoptionandfostercare.hscni.net/foster-care/

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust has launched its Corporate Plan, setting out its vision and strategic priorities for the next three years.

A greater focus on unpaid carers and older people, progressing its Strategic Vision for Causeway Hospital, prioritising learning disability services, tackling waiting lists, and pushing forward with its reform agenda are all highlighted in the Trust’s plan.

There is also a commitment to addressing health and social care inequalities through population health initiatives and partnership working, and a focus on rural communities and supporting children’s health and wellbeing.

Northern Trust Chief Executive Jennifer Welsh said: “After publishing a number of single-year corporate plans, we are pleased to have this longer-term three year vision which outlines our main areas of focus for our staff, patients, and wider community.

“The issues facing our health and social care system are well documented. Despite the unprecedented financial challenges, the growing waiting lists, and workforce pressures, our people remain committed to delivering the highest standards of health and social care for our community.

“The purpose of producing a Corporate Plan is to share our vision and objectives but also, and importantly, how we plan to achieve them.”

Themes

The plan is built around five strategic Team NORTH themes:

• build Northern partnerships and integrate care;
• continue to improve outcomes and experience;
• deliver value by optimising resources;
• nurture out people, enable our talent and build our teams;
• improve population health and address health and social care inequalities.

The Northern Trust serves the largest geographical area of the five local HSC Trusts, and provides services to the highest proportion of Northern Ireland’s over-65 population.

Neil Martin, Director of Strategic Planning, Performance and ICT with the Trust, said: “It’s important that we align the services we are providing to the changing needs and demographic of our local population. This will influence where we put our focus as a senior management team, and help shape the transformation of our services so they remain stable and sustainable in the longer term.”

Delivering value

The Trust has also established a Delivering Value Programme Board, which will focus on productivity, cost control and sustainability.

Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance Owen Harkin said: “At a time when our health and social care system is facing unprecedented budgetary pressures, it’s vital that we look at driving efficiencies and savings wherever possible. We have already made significant progress in reducing spend on high-cost agency and locum staff and we are looking at ways in which we can create a more sustainable health estate which will help to deliver savings in the coming years.”

Northern Health and Social Care Trust Corporate Plan

What do you know about palliative care?

With Palliative Care Week taking place from September 9 – 15, the Northern Health and Social Care Trust has created a new booklet which it hopes will make a difference for patients and carers.

It contains information about the main palliative services within the Northern Trust, how they can help, and how to contact those who deliver them.

Talking

Explaining more, Fiona Gilmour, Macmillan Palliative Care Service Improvement Lead, said: “By palliative, we mean a condition that is not curable. People can live with a palliative condition for years, and can still be getting treatment.

“Palliative care is about much more than end-of-life, and it can make a huge difference at all stages of illness, once a cure is not possible.

“This year the main theme of Palliative Care Week is ‘You, Me and Palliative Care’. It’s an opportunity to get people talking about this type of care, while encouraging greater understanding about what it entails, and how it can benefit those who are ill, and their families.

“We want to share information and practical resources to advise about our services so people know what physical, psychological, social, emotional and spiritual support we can offer if the need arises. Being aware of these services, and taking the steps to access them, can make a huge difference, helping both the person with a life-limiting condition and their family, friends and carers as well.”

Working together

Palliative care can be provided in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes and in a person’s home. It often involves a wide range of health and social care professionals and voluntary organisations who work together alongside the patient, their family and carers.

As well as the new booklet, online resources are available from Compassionate Communities NI which are designed to aid our understanding about those involved in the provision of palliative care. This includes a series of videos featuring different palliative care professionals as they discuss their role, including a district nurse, Marie Curie representative, pharmacist and hospice services.

Fiona added: “Palliative care services can help in a variety of ways, at different stages. The aim is to support a person to manage their condition as well as possible to improve quality of life.

“We work in partnership with the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) who organise the campaign every year, and we recognise the value of collaborating to achieve a better, richer experience of palliative care for people with life-limiting conditions.”

For more information about palliative care services in the Northern Trust, and to read the new information booklet, go to www.northerntrust.hscni.net/services/palliative-care/.

If you would like hard copies of the booklet please email palliativecare.events@northerntrust.hscni.net or phone 028 9442 4000 Ext 336511.

Find out more about the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care.

Read the Palliative and End of Life Care Services booklet.

A key member of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust’s neonatal team has been recognised for her exceptional care and leadership.

Ruth McKinstry, the Trust’s Neonatal Infant Feeding Lead, was runner-up in the Northern Ireland Neonatal Nurses Association Making a Difference Award for 2024.

She received the recognition after guiding the Neonatal Unit to Baby Friendly accreditation from Unicef in 2023 and subsequent reaccreditation earlier this year.

Offering her congratulations, Lead Nurse Shirley Montgomery said: “Ruth has consistently demonstrated an ability to empower, inspire, motivate and encourage staff, while working in partnership with them to ensure they took ownership of the standards required by Unicef. This made them feel valued, listened to and very much supported.

“Working directly with parents, Ruth’s empathy, kindness and gentle way is evident to all. She is clear in her communication whether that is while training staff, developing policies, presenting at a strategic level or working with distressed and anxious parents.

“She makes every contact count, has improved outcomes for babies in all aspects of the standards as well as building the confidence and skills of parents in order that they can care for their pre-term baby and experience true bonding while in the neonatal unit.

“We are very proud to be the only Neonatal Unit in Northern Ireland to hold the Baby Friendly accreditation thanks to the efforts of our staff, and Ruth has been central to this. It is fantastic to see her work recognised in this way by her peers.”