Health body meets half of watchdog recommendations

The healthcare provider ended the last financial year with a £31m overspend

The Isle of Man's healthcare provider has implemented 52% of the recommendations by an independent watchdog, Manx Care's latest annual report has revealed.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) reviews identified issues at GP and dental practices, and at Noble's Hospital emergency department.

Manx Care chief executive Teresa Cope said there was "evidenced progress" as 133 of 258 recommendations had been introduced by the end of the 2023-24 year.

But the document stated "several actions remained incomplete, principally due to financial constraints or external factors".

The government-funded arm's length healthcare provider ended the year with a £31m overspend, which was attributed to inflationary pressures, pay awards and investments in new services.

Despite receiving a further £43.8m for the 2024 to 2025 budget, paid for partly by an increase in personal income tax, forecasts in September predicted it would come in over budget this year again.

Manx Care recently outlines a series of measure to reduce the expected £16.8m deficit.

Reviews

The CQC is a UK government agency that was commissioned to inspect the department to highlight areas for improvement, but does not have any enforcement powers on the island.

It reviewed every area of the island's publicly-funded health sector following the creation of the arm's length body in 2021.

Among the issues CQC inspectors previously found was a "toxic" atmosphere in the emergency department at Noble's Hospital.

Manx Care's annual report confirmed a workforce and culture strategy had been developed and was being implemented.

But other targets, such as a medicines storage audit had not been completed during the timeframe, with the document stating there was a "lack of resource" in its pharmacy division to undertake it.

Challenges

The report, which is set to be the subject of a debate during the November sitting of Tynwald, also provides a broader picture of Manx Care's performance.

It shows waiting lists for dentistry continue to grow but waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment began to decrease towards the end of the year.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan, who is acting Minister for the Department of Health and Social Care, said the debate would provide clarity about "challenges with delivery in some areas".

"Whilst there has been considerable progress there is still much to do to address the level of service required to meet current demand", he said.

"This needs to be balanced with effective financial management and controls."