This year, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland marked a significant milestone as it made its party conference debut. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) conference, held last month in Belfast, was the first time the College had a significant presence at a party conference.
Two weeks later, the College attended the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) conference in Belfast, exhibiting at both events. The conferences provided an important platform to launch and promote the College's new election manifesto for the 2027 Northern Ireland Assembly election. The manifesto's three key policy priorities focus on: Building a sustainable mental health workforce; Delivering equitable mental health services for all and Tackling health inequalities: introduce Minimum Unit Pricing.
Ahead of the election in May 2027, the College is calling on all political parties to embed mental health within their policy programmes. The conferences provided a valuable platform to reinforce this message and promote the manifesto’s key priorities directly to politicians and decision-makers.
Engagement was positive at the conferences, and key conversations took place with SDLP leader, Claire Hanna MLA, Leader of the Opposition, Matthew O’Toole MLA and the party’s Health Spokesperson, Colin McGrath MLA. They discussed the importance of investing in the psychiatry workforce and the need for additional training places. With alcohol-related deaths having risen by 66% since 2017, they also discussed a commitment to the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing legislation.
At the UUP party conference, College representatives met with Robbie Butler MLA, the new Minister for Health. The College has since held a positive meeting with Robbie Butler MLA, where they discussed the acute workforce pressures in mental health services and potential funding models to increase psychiatric training posts across Northern Ireland.
The Minister expressed a strong interest in the College’s recent membership survey, which found that 72% of psychiatrists in Northern Ireland are considering leaving their role due to burnout and a lack of government support. Following the discussion, the College shared a detailed breakdown of the anonymised survey results with Robbie Butler MLA, who has committed to a follow-up meeting in the new year.
At the UUP conference, the College also held discussions with the Deputy Leader, Diana Armstrong MLA; John Stewart MLA; Alan Chambers MLA; Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA; and Lady Daphne Trimble, UUP Honorary President.
Ahead of the 2027 Assembly election, the College will sustain its engagement with all five of the main political parties in Northern Ireland. It will continue to champion its manifesto priorities among politicians and policymakers, with the aim of influencing party manifestos well in advance of the election.
For further information, please contact:
- Email: press@rcpsych.ac.uk
- Out-of-hours contact number: 07860 755896