Isle of Man 'new normal' to include remote GP appointments

Remote appointments were introduced in response to the coronavirus outbreak

Remote GP appointments, which were used during the coronavirus lockdown, "worked well" and will become part of the Isle of Man's "new normal", the government has said.

Telephone and video consultations were introduced in March to replace many in-person visits during the pandemic.

Health Minister David Ashford said they were now "the new state of play" and continuing them would save people time.

He added that face-to-face appointments would still be available.

Under the system, staff at the island's GP surgeries will triage patients by phone before deciding if an in-person or remote consultation is necessary.

Any patient who develops symptoms of coronavirus after booking a face-to-face appointment would "usually be asked not to attend" but may be allowed "in certain circumstances", a government spokeswoman said.

The minister said many patients were "happy to have a remote appointment, as it will save them a journey to the practice".

"Phone consultations won't replace in-person appointments, but we expect them to become part of day-to-day general medical practice," he added.