NI health leaders welcome appointment of new interim Permanent Secretary

Members of the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON) have welcomed the appointment of Mike Farrar as the incoming Interim Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health (1).

Jonathan Patton, NICON Chair, said, “Mike has a track record as a highly respected leader in the NHS, government and business. He is well known to our members, having recently supported a range of local developmental programmes. Notably, he authored a report commissioned by NICON on health and wealth in Northern Ireland in 2022 (2).

“Our members are confident he understands the current challenges facing our system and brings a wealth of experience to ensure we grasp opportunities for progress. Members will be keen to do all they can to work constructively with him and the Minister in the coming year to deliver the changes needed in our health and social care system.

“No one underestimates the scale of the challenges ahead. At the most recent NICON conference, members clearly articulated the ‘nettles’ that must be grasped to drive progress in health and social care (3). Maximising the budget, embedding whole-of-government and community-centred approaches, and embracing the power of technology are all essential to securing better health outcomes for our population.” 

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, also welcomed the appointment, saying, “Mike will be a significant asset to colleagues in Northern Ireland as you seek to accelerate the pace of transformation.”

NICON members would like to extend their sincere thanks to the current Permanent Secretary, Peter May, who is retiring from the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS). We are grateful for his leadership over the last three years and the constructive way he has worked with our leaders to improve services. It is also important to recognise his highly distinguished career in wider public service. We wish him well for the future.

(1) The appointment of Mike Farrar to this role was announced in a TEO press release issued today.

(2) The independent report authored by Mike Farrar, ‘Health and Wealth in Northern Ireland: Capitalising on the Opportunities’ is available to view here. 

(3) At NICON’s most recent annual conference (October 2024), we worked with members to identify a series of policy priorities or ‘nettles’ that must be grasped to drive progress within health and social care in Northern Ireland. A summary can be viewed here.

Please direct any media enquiries to Robyn Scott, NICON Policy & Communications Manager, on 074 8530 3672 or robyn.scott@niconfedhss.org. 

Notes to editors:

• The Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON) is the voice of the organisations working across Northern Ireland’s integrated Health and Social Care system (HSC). Part of the UK-wide NHS Confederation, it is the only membership body for all HSC organisations in NI.
• NICON also offer an Associate Membership scheme open to not-for-profit and commercial organisations working in health and social care in NI.
• NICON holds an annual conference, which is the premier health and social care event for HSC leaders and is regularly attended by over 600 delegates.
• To learn more about NICON, visit www.nhsconfed.org/nicon.

About us

We are the membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The members we represent employ 1.5 million staff, care for more than 1 million patients a day and control £150 billion of public expenditure. We promote collaboration and partnership working as the key to improving population health, delivering high-quality care and reducing health inequalities.