Proposed new transparency rules for Isle of Man health service

The changes are part of an overhaul of the Isle of Man's health service

A proposed new regulation will ensure "honesty and transparency" in the Isle of Man's health service "when things go wrong", the government has said.

Duty of candour rules will be brought in for the first time on the island as part of the new Manx Care Bill.

The regulations will make it a legal requirement to inform patients and carers of errors made during treatment.

Heath Minister David Ashford said healthcare staff had a "duty to address shortcomings".

The move meant the public would know what to expect if something had unfortunately, gone wrong", he added.

Under the rules, patients or someone acting on their behalf must be informed when an error in treatment has caused the death of a person or harm.

Affected individuals must also be provided with information about any legal proceedings and issued with an apology, while a review of the incident must be carried out.

Duty of candour, which has been a legal provision in England since 2014, was one of 26 recommendations in a report on the island's health service by Sir Jonathan Michael, published in 2019.

The Manx Care Bill, which completed its passage through the island's legislature last week, was introduced to enact the findings of the report.

As part of the overhaul, a new independent body known as Manx Care will provide frontline health and social care from April 2021.

A public consultation on the draft regulations has been opened and will close on 22 January.