13th May 2026
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has visited Mullaghbawn GP Practice to see how the Southern Trust is promoting a neighbourhood model of care in this rural community.
The Southern Trust currently has temporary responsibility for three GP practices, which had previously faced challenges – Mullaghbawn, Kilkeel and Rathkeeland in Crossmaglen.
Working in collaboration with the Strategic Planning and Performance Group, this approach has ensured that around 18,000 local patients in these South Armagh and South Down communities have continued to receive General Practitioner primary care services.
The three practices continue to provide GP, nursing and pharmacy services and work with Multi-Disciplinary teams to offer social work, physiotherapy and mental health support as required. They are also working hard to increase appointments and introduce a number of developments alongside community and voluntary partners.
Welcoming Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to Mullaghbawn Practice, Director of Adult Community Services for the Southern Trust Brian Beattie said: “With around 5,400 patients and as the first, often only point of contact for many local people, Mullaghbawn GP Practice is really demonstrating a neighbourhood model of care in action.
“The practice team recognise the important role they have in addressing preventable illness, health inequalities and issues like addiction and loneliness, which are a reality for many older people and those living in rural farming communities.
“Colleagues work closely with Multi-Disciplinary Teams and community and voluntary partners like the Rural Health Partnership to focus on early intervention, linking patients to prevention and social prescribing programmes for support, encouraging health literacy, long-term condition management and providing care as close to home as possible. The aim is to provide a joined up, person-centred approach to reduce the risk of problems escalating, which could impact on a patient’s independence and require wider involvement of support services.”
Key developments for Mullaghbawn Practice include a project to enhance the health and wellbeing of their older population, a pharmacist-led programme to improve medicine’s management, a new heart failure service, proactive telephone calls to identify and prevent issues in patients aged over 75 and efforts to reduce Emergency Department visits for patients with high need.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “I was delighted to visit Mullaghbawn and to meet the staff and visit the surgery.
“General Practice continues to be a pivotal part of health and social care in Northern Ireland. I want primary care to be the key delivery element of our shift left into a Neighbourhood model of healthcare.
“I appreciate GP Practices in south Armagh can be vulnerable due to the rural location, so I want to thank the Southern Trust for taking on the management of the practices in Mullaghbawn and Crossmaglen which has helped to stabilise services in the area.”
The Trust is currently exploring ways to build on recent progress and developments within all three GP practices and secure longer-term stability for the local populations.
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