Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has issued a summer call for the public to help reshape Northern Ireland’s health service, as the government expands its “This is our health” engagement programme across 120 events throughout June. The initiative seeks to forge a new “health and care deal” between citizens and the Health and Social Care system, moving away from a traditional patient-provider relationship toward a partnership model focused on prevention and community-based care.
The programme, which forms a cornerstone of the Department’s Reset Plan, arrives as the health service grapples with record waiting lists and widening health inequalities between the most and least deprived areas. With an online questionnaire open until 31 July 2026, officials are attempting to capture unprecedented public input on what people need most from services and what role they might play in keeping themselves well.
Summer of Conversation: 120 Events Across Northern Ireland
Teams from the Public Health Agency and Health Trusts are taking the conversation to the public at over 120 events right across Northern Ireland during June. The roadshow-style engagement will visit shopping centres, car shows, agricultural shows and festivals, alongside community events in partnership with the Community and Voluntary sectors.
For those unable to attend in person, the Department has opened a digital channel. Members of the public can complete a short online questionnaire at www.thisisourhealth.org.uk until 31 July 2026, sharing what helps them stay well and which aspects of the healthcare system matter most.
- When: Throughout June 2026 (with online responses accepted until 31 July 2026)
- Where: 120+ events including shopping centres, agricultural shows, festivals, and community venues
- Who: Open to everyone, with Community and Voluntary sector organisations helping to promote participation
- How: In-person conversations at roadshows or online via thisisourhealth.org.uk
‘Partners, Not Simply Patients’: The Minister’s Vision
Minister Nesbitt has framed the initiative as a fundamental shift in how the health service relates to the population it serves. Rather than treating the public as passive recipients of care, the programme explicitly invites citizens to become active partners in protecting and improving services.
Speaking about the rollout, Minister Nesbitt said:
“This is our health’ teams from Public Health Agency and the Health Trusts have been on the road during May, shining a spotlight on what people really want from the health service and hearing more about the small daily things people do to stay well for longer.
We want to broaden what comes to mind when people think of health and this initiative encourages a different kind of relationship between the public and the health service, a significant shift. People can choose their contribution by telling us what they could do to help protect the things they care about. In essence, we are inviting people to become partners in healthcare, not simply patients.”
The Minister emphasised that with limited resources and rising demand, the system cannot sustain simply doing “more of what we’ve always done.” He added:
“Our healthcare resources are limited, demand is rising and care is becoming more complex. It is vital that we support individuals to improve their own mental and physical health, which will in turn free up capacity and help protect vital services. We cannot protect the health service by asking it to do more. We can all protect it by choosing to do things differently.
I welcome the opportunity ‘This is our health’ provides to explore how we can rethink our own health. The new model of Neighbourhood Care will bring services much closer to people’s front doors, with a focus on prevention, early intervention and providing the right support when needed. ‘This is our health’ encourages us all to take meaningful steps to improve our own health and stay well for longer.”
The Policy Context: Reset Plans and Neighbourhood Care
The engagement programme sits within the Department’s broader Reset Plan, which seeks to transform how care is delivered across Northern Ireland. It directly supports the Neighbourhood Model of Health and Wellbeing, a framework published in March 2026 that aims to shift care from hospitals into community settings through Integrated Neighbourhood Teams.
This policy backdrop is significant. Recent Department statistics published in March 2026 revealed that health inequality gaps are widening in several critical areas: the deprivation gap for female life expectancy grew by 0.5 years to 5.5 years, while drug misuse deaths in the most deprived areas reached rates almost six times those in the least deprived. Meanwhile, over 500,000 patients remain on hospital waiting lists, with the Minister recently confirming £80 million will be ringfenced for waiting list and elective care capacity in 2026/27.
The “This is our health” initiative represents an attempt to address these pressures through prevention and partnership, rather than acute intervention alone. The Department has also committed to funding over 70 community and voluntary sector organisations through its Core Grant scheme in 2026/27, suggesting infrastructure is being put in place to support the community-based approach the Minister describes.
Unanswered Questions: From Consultation to Concrete Change
While the ambition to co-design a “health and care deal” with the public is novel, several critical details remain unclear. The Department has not specified how feedback will be weighted against clinical priorities or budget constraints, nor has it outlined the mechanism by which this summer’s conversations will translate into binding policy commitments.
There is also the question of how this exercise relates to existing statutory duties. Health and Social Care organisations already have a legal obligation under the Health and Social Care Reform Act (NI) 2009 to involve and consult patients, families and carers—a process known as Personal and Public Involvement (PPI). Whether “This is our health” supplements or supersedes these existing structures is not yet apparent.
Furthermore, with the next Assembly election due on or before 6 May 2027, any “deal” struck between the public and the current administration may face uncertainty should the political landscape shift.
Questions for stakeholders to consider:
- If the public identifies community prevention as a priority, will the Executive protect these budgets when acute hospitals face immediate pressures from record waiting lists?
- How will the Department ensure responses from deprived communities—where health inequalities are most severe and digital access may be limited—carry equal weight in the final “deal”?
- Does the framing of “partnership” risk shifting responsibility for systemic underfunding onto individuals already struggling with cost-of-living pressures?
- With Assembly elections due within a year, how will the Department ensure continuity of this engagement should ministerial leadership change?
- What safeguards exist to ensure the “health and care deal” does not become a justification for reduced service provision disguised as co-production?
The success of “This is our health” will ultimately be measured not by the number of surveys completed, but by whether its findings reshape budget allocations and service design. As the consultation closes on 31 July, attention will turn to whether the Minister can translate summer conversations into a concrete plan that balances public expectations with the stark fiscal realities facing the health service.
How to take part: Visit www.thisisourhealth.org.uk to find your nearest event or complete the online questionnaire before 31 July 2026.