Health Minister Mike Nesbitt published the Department of Health's Neighbourhood Model of Health and Wellbeing Framework. The model belongs to the Department's Reset Plan. It supports delivery of proactive, preventative and specialist care near patients' homes across Northern Ireland.

Integrated Neighbourhood Teams will combine health and social care providers, local councils and the voluntary and community sector. The teams address health inequalities, prevention, care continuity and demand management. Initial rollout targets four areas: team establishment, community care shift, innovation programme and local connections. Older people receive first priority through earlier support, hospital discharge aid and home services.

Nesbitt said demand for health services increases while workforce strains grow. Current operations lack capacity, he added, and require prevention-focused changes. The model used 183 examples from a call for evidence.

Ruth Sutherland, Chair of the Patient and Client Council, said partnerships with communities, councils and voluntary groups shape local services. The approach moves from providing services to collaborating with residents.

Funding shifts resources from hospitals to communities, allocates core team support, enables invest-to-shift projects and draws external partners. Macmillan pledged up to £10 million over three to five years via its Neighbourhood Transformation Fund. Gemma Peters, Macmillan CEO, said the funds aid seamless care.

Dr Ursula Mason, Chair of RCGP Northern Ireland, said general practice must anchor the model. She welcomed community care and early intervention emphasis but stressed stable, funded GP services. Mason noted GPs deliver most patient care over lifetimes and called for workforce expansion, access protection and care continuity.