The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has set out an ambitious ten-year strategic plan for the reform of adult social care and support (2025 – 2035). A key priority is prevention and early intervention, with a vision that people are supported to live well in their own homes and communities, surrounded by the right community-based supports and services.
IMPACT was invited to contribute to this work, supporting the development of system-wide approaches to prevention and early intervention that can enable sustainable change across adult social care.
Barbara Campbell, IMPACT’s Northern Ireland Embedding Lead, has led IMPACT’s contribution to the development of an Early Intervention and Prevention Framework for adult social care. Working in partnership with Dr Obert Tawodzera and Dr Mary Webster, this has brought together evidence from research, practice and lived experience to help inform strategic change.
A review of the evidence and literature provided an important foundation for the work. Alongside this, Barbara and Mary engaged with people who draw on care and support and drew learning from initiatives across Northern Ireland, ensuring that lived experience has been central to shaping thinking about the future of adult social care.
Communities of Practice, hosted by Dr Mary Webster, provided further opportunities to bring together different perspectives, experiences and learning. This informed the development of a draft framework, which will be considered by the Early Intervention and Prevention subgroup of the Reform of Adult Social Care programme.
A collaborative workshop involving senior leaders from across Health and Social Care and people who draw on care and support provided an important opportunity to test and develop the emerging framework. Brendan and Margaret shared their experiences at the workshop, powerfully illustrating the case for change and the importance of designing adult social care around what matters to people.
Barbara continues to work alongside the Early Intervention and Prevention Group, supporting the translation of evidence into practice and helping to support sustainable system change. Central to this work is ensuring that lived experience, evidence and practice knowledge come together to shape an adult social care system that intervenes earlier, strengthens community-based support and enables people to live well at home and in their communities.