European Centre for Connected Health
22 January 2008, Waterfront Hall
Health Minister Michael McGimpsey
I would like to begin by welcoming you all to this event and a very special welcome to our guests from abroad. We are grateful to you for taking time out of your busy schedules to be with us today. This is an important day for Northern Ireland. Earlier today I was in the Assembly to hear the Finance Minister’s statement on the budget. I can say that I now have funding to provide a significant package of measures which will help in my drive to reform and modernise our health and social care system.
The final budget allocation will now allow me take forward a range of additional developments in areas such as cancer and cardiac services, mental health and learning disability and for early intervention for long term conditions such as heart failure, respiratory disease and diabetes. Improving the quality of our health and social care services is essential as we strive to meet the challenges ahead. We need to be more innovative and creative in the way we provide health and social care services to the population.
Like most of Western Europe, Northern Ireland faces new challenges in providing health and social care. The number of people aged over 85 is expected to double over the next 20 years and is rising faster here than in the rest of the UK. This will result in an increasing number of people with chronic conditions such as heart problems, diabetes and stroke. Unless we develop new ways to manage this demand, there is a real risk that our services could be overwhelmed.
So, how do we resource and equip our health and social service to deal with these demands? And further, how can we best exploit the advances in medicine and technology to deliver care which is high quality, easily accessible and relevant?
As I have said we are not alone in facing these challenges, nor in seeking to identify innovative ways in addressing them. International research has demonstrated that technology can help us address these issues. I am convinced that, when this technology is integrated into our health service, it will help us meet challenges that face us now and in the future.
But despite the evidence, health economies throughout Europe and America are struggling to apply these new approaches.
It is clear that a strategic focus is needed to drive these changes through. And I know the European Commission and many local health economies across Europe and the USA are keen to make rapid progress on this issue. Northern Ireland can help.
I want Northern Ireland to become known internationally as leading the way in introducing new solutions to ensuring modern and high quality care is available in a timely way. Through partnership working with colleagues throughout Europe there is real potential for Northern Ireland to become a model health and social care economy for others to follow. This is not simply an aspiration.
