Mental health data blackout to continue for another two years

The recent Assembly debate on mental health data laid bare a "fundamental failure at the heart of Northern Ireland's mental health system" according to a prominent mental health charity.

The Participation and Practice of Rights (PPR) organisation's 'New Script for Mental Health' group said the debate on February 16, highlighted "there is still no reliable, publicly validated data to show whether services are meeting need, how long people are waiting, or whether outcomes are improving".

Sara Boyce, New Script for Mental Health organiser said: "Despite more than five years of a Mental Health Strategy, Audit Office warnings and Public Accounts Committee scrutiny, Health Minister Mr Mike Nesbitt MLA confirmed that key mental health figures remain “management information” rather than official statistics."

She added: "This means they are not yet considered robust enough for formal publication.

"The Minister blamed the Department of Health’s new Encompass system for the delays. This digital care record system has been built by Epic, a US private company at the cost of £360m to date. In a shocking admission, the Minister stated: 'Encompass is like a system built to go to the moon but currently being used for a short trip to Spain.'

"However, New Script for Mental Health campaigners is clear that is not a technical problem, rather it is an accountability failure that long predates the rollout of Encompass. Despite repeated warnings since 2021 from the Office for Statistics Regulation, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Public Accounts Committee, serious weaknesses in mental health data collection and publication remain unresolved."

Ger McParland, New Script activist added: "People cannot hold services to account if the numbers are not published.

"Families cannot understand delays. MLAs cannot scrutinise spending. Strategy without measurable public reporting is simply rhetoric and a fundamental failure in accountability. We were told that Encompass is the solution. Yet it is now in a two-year ‘stabilisation’ period. That takes us close to 2027 — six years into the Strategy — before meaningful reporting may be in place.

"The debate on the Sinn Féin motion confirmed that mental health is bottom of the pile when it comes to routinely published data, with the following significant gaps being identified: no validated, routinely published regional mental health waiting-time data; no published Mental Health Outcomes Framework for the 10-year Mental Health Strategy; no public dashboard like that available in NHS England; no time-bound milestones for accountability within the two-year stabilisation phase; and no confirmed publication date for comparable Trust-level data

"The Minister stated that data must be 'robust' before publication. Campaigners argue that transparency and validation must happen in parallel — not sequentially — particularly given repeated warnings from oversight bodies since 2021," said Ger McParland.

"The Mental Health Strategy 2021–2031 promised improved data collection to inform better services and outcomes. We are now halfway through that strategy. Yet the public still cannot see: how many people are waiting, and for how long; whether spending aligns with need; whether outcomes are improving; and whether inequalities by deprivation or region are narrowing," he added.

"Without this information, there is no way to judge performance, value for money, or progress against strategy commitments."

Mary Gould, New Script activist highlighted the human cost of this ongoing failure: "This is not about spreadsheets or systems — it is about saving lives.

Derry prepare for massive Cork showdown

McKaigue hails squad’s growing grit as Oakleafers secure third straight league win to fuel promotion charge

Watty Graham's urge Congress delegates to vote against extending county season

The GAA's annual Congress will take place on February 27-28

When the Minister admits mental health data will not be published for at least another two years, he is admitting that we will continue to make life-and-death decisions in the dark.

Data is not a technical add-on to reform; it is how we know whether people are getting help in time, whether suicide prevention is working, and whether services are reaching those most at risk. Transparency is not optional — it is the foundation of saving lives.”

New Script campaigners are demanding immediate action to restore credibility and public trust:

Immediate publication timetable for validated waiting-time statistics; release of the full Mental Health Outcomes Framework; quarterly public performance reporting; clear baselines and time-bound targets; RAG-rated indicators for headline commitments; and public reporting broken down by region and deprivation.