NI faces UK’s worst mental health crisis says report
Northern Ireland has the most acute mental health challenge of any UK region - and services least able to meet it according to new research from the STADA Health Report 2026.
67.6 per cent of adults here have named mental health as one of the country's biggest health challenges, the highest proportion of any UK region and 6.5 percentage points above the national average of 61.1 per cent.
Yet only 18.8 per cent rate mental health services as good - less than half the national figure of 36.7 per cent, and the lowest rating of any region across the UK.
The STADA Health Report 2026 is published by STADA Thornton & Ross, the manufacturer of healthcare brands including Covonia, Cetraben, Hedrin, Savlon and Zoflora.
The report surveyed 2,001 UK adults as part of a wider study of almost 20,000 people across 20 countries, examining attitudes to healthcare systems, AI, mental health, self-medication and prevention. The regional data provides one of the most detailed pictures yet of how healthcare experience and attitudes vary across the UK.
Northern Ireland's difficulties extend well beyond mental health.
Overall satisfaction with the public healthcare system stands at 48.2 per cent - the lowest of any UK region and 16.9 percentage points below the national average of 65.1 per cent.
Nearly one in four adults (23.7 per cent) say they do not feel in control of their own health, more than double the UK average of 11.3 per cent. Two-thirds (66.3 per cent) feel overwhelmed by health information, against 47.7 per cent nationally.
Three-quarters (75.3 per cent) identify healthcare professional shortages as a significant problem - the highest proportion of any UK region, against a national average of 66.9 per cent.
The picture is consistent with longstanding data on Health and Social Care (HSC) workforce pressures and waiting times, which have remained among the most acute in any UK devolved nation.
39.2 per cent of Northern Ireland adults say expanding mental health provision should be a government priority - 9.5 points above the UK average of 29.7 per cent and the highest regional figure in the data.
Northern Ireland has recorded the largest gap between the scale of mental health need and the quality of mental health provision of any UK region.
The public demand for change has a clear address; the Department of Health Northern Ireland and the five HSC Trusts are the bodies responsible for commissioning and delivering mental health services here.
The data points directly to what communities expect from them - and from the community pharmacy network that operates alongside them.
Pharmacy First Northern Ireland, which operates with a distinct referral and service framework from its equivalents in England and Wales, represents an existing infrastructure for accessible, community-level health support that could play a greater role in meeting the mental health and wellbeing need the data describes.
A further finding reinforces the picture. Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of health information confidence of any UK region - just 10.7 per cent feel confident navigating health information, against 23.4 per cent national - while 66.3 per cent report feeling overwhelmed.
For community pharmacy, health media and public health communicators, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity: a population in significant need of accessible, trusted guidance.
Craig Shaw, general manager for STADA UK, said: “The gap between what Northern Ireland adults are experiencing and what the system is providing for them is the starkest in this year’s data from a UK level. 67.6 per cent of people here name mental health as one of the country’s biggest health challenges but fewer than one in five rate mental health services as good.
“What adds weight to it is the confidence picture. Northern Ireland has recorded the lowest health information confidence of any UK region – just one in 10 people feel equipped to navigate their own health information, while two-thirds feel overwhelmed by it.
"When people can’t access the right care and can’t make sense of the information available to them, they need to find another solution.
“Pharmacy can be part of the answer here. When formal services feel out of reach, a community pharmacist is often the most accessible healthcare professional someone can speak to, and one of the most trusted.
"At STADA, caring for people’s health as a trusted partner means supporting the pharmacy teams who fill that gap every day ensuring that people can get the expert advice they need when they need it.”