Mental health charity calls Health Department to  address mental health data failures

A prominent mental health charity has called on Stormont’s Department of Health to  address “systemic failures in transparency, accountability and outcomes measurement”.

The Participation and Practice of Rights (PPR) organisation’s ‘New Script for Mental Health’ campaign advocates for a fundamental shift in mental healthcare, moving away from a purely medicalised, individual-focused system toward a human rights-based, community-centred approach.

In advance of Monday’s Assembly debate on mental health data failures, Sara Boyce, New Script for Mental Health’s organiser, said that despite repeated warnings since 2021 from the Office for Statistics Regulation, the NI Audit Office and the NI Public Accounts Committee “serious weaknesses in mental health data collection and publication remain unresolved”.

“Five years into Northern Ireland’s 10-year Mental Health Strategy, there is still no published Outcomes Framework,” she added. 

“The Department previously attributed delays to the rollout of the Encompass system, completed in May 2025. However, in an FOI response obtained by New Script for Mental Health, the Department confirmed that 75% of outcomes measures had been embedded into Encompass, with all remaining measures due to be ready for clinical use by July 2025. 

“That deadline has now passed — yet the Outcomes Framework remains unpublished. Without it, there is no clear way to assess whether the Mental Health Strategy is delivering meaningful improvements for patients.

“Despite statutory targets for mental health assessments and psychological therapies, there is no routine public reporting of waiting times or activity data for: adult mental health services; psychological services; talking therapies and counselling; eating disorder services; ECT services; and wider community mental health services.

“Following the closure of the Health and Social Care Board, the Department confirmed there is ‘no statutory requirement’ to publish performance information,” said Ms Boyce.

“Currently available data is largely limited to historic inpatient statistics and partial CAMHS reporting,” she added.

“By contrast, NHS England operates a comprehensive Mental Health Data Hub with regular monthly, quarterly and annual reporting.”

According to Ms Boyce, “transparency is possible, when it is prioritised”

“The Department’s award-winning COVID-19 dashboard demonstrated that high-quality, accessible data publication can be delivered rapidly when prioritised,” she said.

“In 2021, New Script for Mental Health independently created an interactive digital map of GP-based counselling provision using FOI data — without public funding — highlighting that the issue is not technical capability, but political will,” added Ms Boyce.

“This matters because without data, MLAs cannot scrutinise performance. Public spending cannot be assessed for value. Inequalities cannot be identified or addressed and strategy cannot be measured or improved

“Mental health must not remain the least transparent part of the health system.

“New Script for Mental Health is calling for: full compliance with the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics; a  formal public response from the Department on implementing recommendations from oversight bodies; and immediate publication of the Mental Health Strategy Outcomes Framework.

“We also want to see publication of a comprehensive list of all mental health datasets held by the Department; and routine monthly publication of waiting times and activity data across all mental health services,” she said. 

“Without data, there is no accountability. Without accountability, there is no reform,” added Ms Boyce.

“The Assembly now has an opportunity — and a responsibility — to insist on transparency and evidence-based mental health policy. Patients, families and frontline staff deserve nothing less.”

Foyle MLA Ciara Ferguson (Sinn Féin) said consistent mental health data was needed to support people who were  struggling.

She added: “The lack of accurate and consistent mental health data in the North is undermining the ability to deliver effective services.

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Speaking ahead of the Sinn Féin motion in the Assembly calling for a single standard mental health data system, Ms Ferguson called for a “single standard mental health data system”.

“Without accurate and consistent data on waiting times, staff shortages and the level of demand for services, it is impossible to properly plan, deliver or improve mental health services," she added.

“Despite being commonplace in other parts of these islands, and with demand for mental health support rising, the north remains without such a system.

“That’s why Sinn Féin is calling for a single, standardised mental health data system, allowing health trusts to better plan and deliver support for those experiencing poor mental health.

"People who are struggling and their families deserve to be assured that the care they are receiving is compassionate, appropriate and timely."