Stormont urged to build on cross-border health funding

NEGLECTED border communities have been thrown a lifeline with more than €70 million (£58.6m) in health funding, the head of a cross-border research group has said.

The investment from PEACEPLUS, a €1.14 billion (£950 million) programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), is set to support 80,000 people for issues like obesity and medicine management, geriatric medicine as well as child and adult mental health.

Dr Anthony Soares, Director of the Centre for Cross Border Cooperation, said it was a welcome intervention as Stormont’s health budget falls behind the Republic.

“I think the work on tackling health inequalities is a top priority, especially in the border counties. A lot of those areas are very rural, so that goes a long way to reinforce inequalities because of difficulty in accessing all sorts of services,” he told the Irish News.

DUP MP Sammy Wilson joins protest against movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland

Driver hospitalised after car trapped in water at Co Down beach

“That has a significant impact, especially on older people with additional health needs.”

He said a tendency of policy makers to concentrate on large, urban areas can often make those along the border feel invisible.

“In the border areas you’re distant from both Dublin and Belfast. Sometimes policy is blind to the border region in terms of not only the need, but also the opportunities in areas like health,” he said.

This includes Middletown Autism Centre in Co Armagh, which he calls “a vital flagship cross-border service” for families in rural areas.

“So there are positive initiatives but we need more of them, that’s the crucial thing and that’s why this PEACEPLUS investment is a really positive move forward.”

A total of eight projects will be covered by the PEACEPLUS funding.

– Community Connection and Well-being Project – led by HSE Ireland, it will focus on social and economic challenges that affect mental health and well-being in border communities.

– Changing Lives Initiative: Flourish & Thrive – A project to develop a cross-border, community-led early intervention pathway to address neurodevelopmental conditions like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

– Early Intervention Support Youth Hubs – Early intervention support services for families with children and young people aged one to 17, presenting with behavioural issues associated with neurodevelopmental issues.

– Early Frailty Intervention Project (EFIP) – To develop a cross-border community-based early frailty infrastructure.

– Healthier Futures Project (HFP) – Focused on obesity management within cross-border communities.

– Innovation in person-centred Medication Prescribing and Review for Optimal Value and Efficacy (iMPROVE) – A project on medicine management led by Ulster University and other partners.

– PEACETIME – The development of a specialist obesity management service for adults with Type 2 diabetes in primary care and the community in Derry, Tyrone, Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim.

– Right Support Right Time – A project to promote positive well-being, increasing resilience and preventing the deterioration of existing mental and emotional distress.

Dr Soares added that he did believe all-island cooperation on health was improving after the upheaval of Covid and Brexit, even with stretched resources.

“Covid was disruptive, but we are now in a healthier place. But we can’t get away from the fact the budgetary landscape is very different overall in the two jurisdictions,” he said.

“With the budget pressures in Northern Ireland, there’s less scope for relieving those pressures with additional funding.

“But one way of the ways you can address those is by joining up with your counterparts in another jurisdiction. It just makes practical sense.”

Last week, the PEACEPLUS initiative was also welcomed as “a wonderful opportunity” to pool resources and ease pressure on services by the Stormont and Irish Health ministers - Mike Nesbitt and Stephen Donnelly.