'More detail' wanted in £18.3m waiting list plan

The £18.3m plan was launched in 2022 to reduce waiting lists

Several MHKs have said they wanted "more detail" in the reporting on the progress of an £18.3m plan to tackle waiting lists.

The Restoration and Recovery Programme Phase Two aimed to increase the number of elective opthalmology, general surgery and orthopaedic procedures, and was launched in 2022.

A report summarising its progress following its conclusion was approved before Tynwald this week, but criticised on its length considering the amount of money spent on it.

Chris Thomas, MHK said he would have liked more detailed analysis on alternative pathways to reduce waiting lists, while Tim Glover said he wanted more information on what lessons had been learnt.

Improvements 'embedded'

The majority of those who spoke acknowledged the positive feedback they had received, with David Ashford saying that his constituents had been worried that it would be like a "factory" but they had felt "very much cared for".

He did, however, raise concerns that the waiting lists in particular for orthopaedics, which had not met its targets, were at a sustainable level.

Health and Social Care Minister Lawrie Hooper said that opthalmology had returned to business as usual in May 2023, with orthopaedics back to normal in December and General Surgery in March.

Manx Care had said the waiting lists had remained at a sustainable level since.

The department provided the detail that was asked of it by Tynwald, and members' could have reached out to him for more information, he continued.

Improvements had been "embedded" in the health body's practice, with the number of cataracts operations that can take place in "one session" increasing from four to 12 and a decrease in discharge time following orthopaedic procedures from 3.5 days to 1.6 days.

Mr Hooper added that while the programme was a "phenomenal success" it was "just three specialties", and so he would be bringing forward a business case for further funding to tackle waiting lists across "all elective care settings".