Mental health strategy - Public mental health

Who is this page for?

  • Professionals – updates on how the Mental Health Strategy Actions 1 and 2 are being progressed and how to get involved.   
  • Public – updates on how the Public Mental Health Action Plan (Mental Health Strategy Actions 1 and 2) is being progressed 

Public mental health

Recognising that mental ill health is one of the most significant challenges facing our society and public services, The Mental Health Strategy 2021–2031 launched by the Department of Health sets out 35 actions to improve mental health and wellbeing in Northern Ireland.

The Strategy outlines 35 key actions across three core themes:

  • Theme one:  Promoting mental wellbeing – supporting good mental health, resilience, and wellbeing throughout society
  • Theme two: Providing the right support at the right time – ensuring timely access to appropriate services
  • Theme three: Developing new ways of working – transforming how mental health services are designed and delivered

The PHA leads a cross-departmental and cross-sectoral approach to delivering Actions 1 and 2 under Theme one - Promoting mental wellbeing. 

The Public Mental Health Action Plan 2026-2029 sets out the work being taken forward to deliver Actions 1 and 2 of the Mental Health Strategy.

This work builds on previous Early Intervention and Prevention Action Plan 2022–2025 and supports a coordinated approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing across Northern Ireland.
 

Public Mental Health Action Plan

The Public Health Agency leads a cross departmental and cross sectoral approach to delivery of Actions 1 and 2 of the Mental Health Strategy. 

The Public Mental Health Action Plan has been developed to outline the work to be taken forward from 2026-2029. It is focussed on promoting good mental health and emotional wellbeing and on preventing the onset of mental health problems or mental illness across the life course.  

This plan builds on the delivery of the Early Intervention and Prevention Action Plan 2022–2025 and is central to work underway in relation to substance use and to suicide prevention. This phase of work has now completed. You can find more information about progress since 2022 at this link: Mental health strategy - early intervention and prevention | HSC Public Health Agency. 

If you’d like to receive quarterly updates on this work please register to join the mailing list. 

 

Newsletters

Click below to access the programmes’ newsletter which provides information about the work underway: 

 

Public Mental Health Conferences

Reports:

 

Conference debrief:

Mental Health Conference - 29 May 2025

More than 200 people from across health and social care, the voluntary and community sectors, local councils, academics and policy makers attended the Mental Health Strategy Early Intervention and Prevention conference on the 29th of May. The conference focused on taking a public mental health approach to tackling the inequalities that drive poor mental health.

Key partners in the conference were the Department of Health, Mental Health Foundation NI, the University of Ulster the Mental Health Champions office, Queens University Belfast and the University of Ulster who hosted the conference on their Coleraine campus. Actions 1 and 2 of the Mental Health Strategy emphasises the need to move to a model of prevention and earlier intervention and recognises that inequalities such as poverty and income inequality, adverse childhood experiences, racism, discrimination, health conditions, disability and ageing, housing and the built environment all impact on being able to enjoy good mental health. 

Speakers included Dr. Jacqui Dyer who has led the co-development of the NHS’s Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) and acted as Mental Health Equalities Advisor to NHS England and Dr Denise O’Hagan, Assistant Director Strategic Public Heath (Mental Health & Learning Disability) Public Health Agency.

Through panel discussions and posters the conference showcased work underway to address inequalities in public mental health and offered an opportunity to share learning.

A full report from the conference is in development but slides from the conference are available on request, please email mentalhealthEIPactionplan@hscni.net.

Reports

 

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Last reviewed
27 September 2026

Useful contacts

For more information, please email publicmentalhealthAP@hscni.net.

Key resources

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