Health laws overhaul could see sole patient record

The consultation is available online until early October

Medical professionals on the Isle of Man could have broader access to patient records if proposals to modernise health and care laws are backed.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is asking for views on plans to combine three pieces of legislation to form the Health and Care Services Bill.

Minister Lawrie Hooper said the current laws, which "don’t work as well together as we would like", could be replaced by "one fully functional, modernised bill".

It could legislate to join up services such as using a single identifying patient number across all services, which would link up with the UK NHS.

The consultation asks for views on the sharing of patient records between different services, following feedback about frustrations when receiving treatment from multiple clinics or from off-island providers, a DHSC spokeswoman said.

The survey also asks about priorities when receiving care, such as location, if the perspectives of the carer should be considered when delivering care, and if personal budget should be issued to give people funds to spend on care that best suits their needs and preferences.

'Important principles'

The reforms were part of the recommendations in a 2018 review of Manx health services and their delivery, which also suggested the creation of Manx Care.

The move would update and combine the National Health Service Act 2001, the Social Services Act 2011 and the National Health and Care Service Act 2016, to work alongside the Manx Care Act 2021.

The DHSC said there were currently some "gaps which could limit service delivery" and the care available to residents "now and in the future".

Mr Hooper said the feedback would help "develop the important principles which will underpin the entire piece of work – to tell us what a preferred service looks like when it comes to privacy, location, and preferences".

The consultation is available online until 7 October 2024.