Short-term savings plan could see healthcare cuts

A total of 195 schemes were identified by Manx Care to make savings this financial year

Some frontline Manx Care health services could be reduced over a six-month period in a bid to reduce an £16.8m overspend, the organisation's chief executive has said.

Teresa Cope said the body was submitting short-term plans to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to reduce an estimated shortfall this financial year.

She said Manx Care was committed to its "ambitious" mandate but the body's £346m budget did not meet a recommended funding model suggested in 2021 when it was created.

The Isle of Man government has been contacted for a response.

Ms Cope said, while it would be for the DHSC to sign off on proposals to close the gap for this year, "some of the things we are discussing are more unpalatable than we would ideally like".

No further details of the cuts being proposed have been revealed.

The organisation was created to take over from the DHSC as an arm's-length provider of health services following a review by former NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Sir Jonathan Michael.

Ms Cope said if the recommended funding formula had been adopted at the same time, Manx Care "would have received £155m of additional funding" over three years and "we wouldn’t be talking about an overspend or cuts to services".

Political conversation

The healthcare provider's budget was increased from £303m in 2023 to more than £346m in February's budget.

The rise was partly funded by a 2% hike in the higher rate of personal income tax, which the Treasury said was designed to generate a £20m boost to be ringfenced for health spending.

Ms Cope said while the current estimated overspend was £16.8m, up to £12m of savings were "locked in" for 2024-25 through a range of efficiency schemes such as managing the use of bank and agency workers.

She said since its creation Manx Care had made in excess of £10m of savings every year, improved standards following formal assessments by external regulators as well as covering increased drugs costs due to inflation and £30m in pay awards.

"I understand concerns that there’s a lot of money going into healthcare but therein lies a bigger conversation politically about what the priorities are for the government and for that to translate into what government wants Manx Care to focus on," she said.

"Manx Care is doing its best, but our mandate is very ambitious."