Writing for Belfast Live, Sarah Christie, Head of Northern Ireland for Macmillan Cancer Support, calls on the new Health Minister Robbie Butler to make cancer a priority
Sarah Christie, Head of Northern Ireland for Macmillan Cancer Support
20:36, 22 Aug 2026
People living in the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland are around 20 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer(Image: Getty)
The latest cancer figures for Northern Ireland, published by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry last week, should be a wake-up call for the NI Executive, especially in light of the departure of Mike Nesbitt MLA as the Health Minister.
Macmillan Cancer Support’s analysis of the data shows that people living in the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland are around 20 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than those who live in the least deprived areas, after adjusting for age. They are also 48 per cent more likely to die from cancer.
This is a failure we know needs addressing. Cancer care isn’t fair, and at Macmillan, we work closely with people living with cancer to understand their needs. With this insight, we work with politicians and health systems to close these unacceptable gaps.
We know the Northern Ireland Executive has bold ambitions to tackle health inequities and transform how health and social care is delivered. The new Neighbourhood Model of Health and Wellbeing is an important part of that ambition, bringing health services and community organisations together to deliver better care and support, including for people with cancer.
This is a move we welcome. We know that Neighbourhood models can deliver care that is holistic, delivered closer to home and built around people’s real lives.
But ambition alone won’t close the gap people are facing today. The NI Executive needs to show commitment to delivering these plans, backed by strong funding and leadership.
This starts with addressing that the departure of the Health Minister, as well as the recent failure to agree a multi-year budget in Stormont, creates uncertainty around the delivery of cancer care and treatment. This uncertainty simply isn’t fair to the many thousands of people who are living with cancer and desperate to see a change.
Without an agreed budget, it will be difficult for health services and their partners to plan properly, make urgent and necessary improvements, and invest for the future. and make the changes people need.
That’s why we want to see clarity around the multi-year budget, and sooner rather than later. To us, this is an essential part of truly delivering the Neighbourhood Model of Health and Wellbeing. It should be embedded into its plan, just as cancer care should be.
Northern Ireland urgently needs clarity and stability in health leadership. The new Health Minister has an early opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to people living with cancer by making cancer care a clear and immediate priority.
We know that cancer isn’t something that only happens in the hospital setting; people need services closer to home so they can recognise symptoms, navigate treatment options, and receive personalised physical and emotional support in a way that works for them.
Community organisations, GPs and Community Pharmacies know their neighbourhoods. They understand the barriers faced by those they seek to support, and they will have essential insight into how we can close these gaps and ensure nobody is left behind.
At Macmillan, we are working with the Department of Health to strengthen support. In 2025, we match-funded the Department of Health’s Cancer Charity Grants Scheme, which supported 16 organisations. This aligns with our wider work to increase grant-giving for community groups, for example, through the recent launch of our Macmillan CARE grants, a new model of grant giving that has seen us award almost £8 million to 64 community groups across the UK.
Our support of the neighbourhood health model is rooted in our belief that bringing health systems and local expertise together can help to create a more responsive system than we have now. But these models can only succeed if they’re backed up by strong planning and sustainable investment. Community organisations need to know that they have the resources to deliver their services well, and that their perspectives are heard by those making practical decisions, such as the critical multi-year budget.
Making cancer care fairer takes time, and inequities don’t close overnight. We need to make sure everyone has the best possible experience of diagnosis, treatment and support, no matter who they are or where they live. That is why we can’t afford to lose time now.
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