The chair of the 萝莉视频 in Northern Ireland has responded to a on Stormont’s Mental Health Strategy being 'scaled back'.
In the story, Northern Ireland’s mental health champion, Professor Siobhan O’Neill said the news was “disastrous” after a review into the 10-year strategy found that only ?12.3m had been invested in 14 actions since it was published four years ago.
It was estimated ?1.2bn was needed to implement the 35 actions initially set out, but the Department of Health is now stripping back its plan.
Health minister Mike Nesbitt said 'no additional funding' had been allocated to support the strategy since its publication in 2021.
Commenting, Dr Julie Anderson, Chair of RCPsych in Northern Ireland, said:
“It’s disappointing that once again investment in mental health falls way behind the investment that physical health receives.
"It is an absolute travesty for our members and other mental health professionals who invested time into shaping the strategy four years ago, and who had aspirations for ensuring that mental health services met the needs of the people in Northern Ireland.
“The strategy was a commitment outlined in the recent Programme for Government, which was only published in February 2025. There is now a real risk that the public will lose trust in our leadership.
“While we welcome the focus on workforce, knowing many of our Trusts are dealing with at least a one in four consultant vacancy rate, the fact is we need systematic change and investment now, to allow this to start to be remedied.
“That is why we’re calling on the Executive to do better. For the sake of our nation – we must have parity.”
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