| Agency Name: | Department of Health |
| Type: | Department |
| Formed: | June 1944 (as Ministry of Health and Local Government) |
| Preceding1: | Ministry of Home Affairs |
| Jurisdiction: | Northern Ireland |
| Headquarters: | Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 3SJ |
| Employees: | 731 (September 2011)[1] |
| Budget: | £4,383.1 million (current) & £200.5 million (capital) for 2011–12[2] |
| Minister1 Name: | Mike Nesbitt |
| Chief1 Name: | Peter May[3] |
| Chief1 Position: | Permanent Secretary |
| Website: | www.health-ni.gov.uk |
The Department of Health (DoH, Irish: An Roinn Sláinte, in Irish pronounced as /ˈanˠ ˈɾˠiːn̪ʲ ˈsˠlaːnʲtʲə/), Ulster-Scots: Männystrie o Poustie) is a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Health.
Until 9 May 2016, the department was previously called the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Irish: An Roinn Sláinte, Seirbhísí Sóisialta agus Sábháilteachta Poiblí).
DoH's overall aim and mission is to "improve the health and social well-being of the people of Northern Ireland."[4]
The department launched a new digital strategy in August 2022. It includes the Encompass programme which will create a unified health and care record for the province.[5]
The Minister, assisted by the department, makes policy and legislation in three broad areas:
Some sensitive health policy issues are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved:[6]
In Northern Ireland, abortion law is a criminal justice matter and is devolved.[7]
DoH's main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:
In the Irish Government, its main counterparts are:
The Health and Social Care system in Northern Ireland consists of the following public bodies:
Northern Ireland-wide
Sub-regional health and social care trusts
Health policy in Northern Ireland was originally a responsibility of local government and the Ministry of Home Affairs, which (similarly to the Home Office) retained responsibility for policy areas not delegated to other ministries.
A separate Ministry of Health and Local Government was established in June 1944, as part of the welfare state. In January 1965, that department was divided between the Ministry of Development and the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
The latter ministry was renamed as the Department of Health and Social Services under direct rule, introduced in March 1972. A health and social services ministry was also included in the Northern Ireland Executive briefly established in 1974. The department was responsible for social security policy and its initials DHSS are still used locally to describe benefits and benefit claimants.
Following a referendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting of royal assent to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were established by the United Kingdom Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In December 1999, the Department of Health and Social Services was renamed as the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. It gained responsibility for the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade from the Department of the Environment but ceded social security to the Department for Social Development. DHSSPS was therefore one of the six direct rule Northern Ireland departments to continue in existence following devolution, following the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.
A devolved minister took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office:
Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption.
| Minister | Image | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bairbre de Brún | 29 November 1999 | 11 February 2000 | |||
| Office suspended | |||||
| Bairbre de Brún | 30 May 2000 | 14 October 2002[20] | |||
| Office suspended | |||||
| Michael McGimpsey | 14 May 2007 | 5 May 2011 | |||
| Edwin Poots | 16 May 2011 | 23 September 2014 | |||
| Jim Wells | 24 September 2014 | 11 May 2015 | |||
| Simon Hamilton | 11 May 2015 | 30 March 2016[21] | |||
| Office renamed Minister of Health | |||||
| Michelle O'Neill | 25 May 2016 | 2 March 2017 | |||
| Office suspended | |||||
| Robin Swann | 11 January 2020 | 27 October 2022 | |||
| Office suspended | |||||
| Robin Swann | 3 February 2024 | 29 May 2024 | |||
| Mike Nesbitt | 29 May 2024 | Incumbent | |||
During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the Northern Ireland Office were responsible for the department: