Manx Care: Plan to overhaul complaints process

Patients will have up to 12 months to make complaints under the proposed system

Overhauling the way healthcare complaints are handled on the Isle of Man should make the process "better and quicker", the health minister has said.

A standardised Manx Care complaints process would be set in law and a new review body would be created, he added.

The changes, which include set timescales for responses, are due from October, if Tynwald backs the move.

Lawrie Hooper said clarity was needed over how long it took to deal with complaints.

The public have complained to him "quite a lot" about the time it can take to investigate problems and get a resolution, he added.

'Modernised system'

Under the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) proposals, the time limit to make a complaint would be extended from 28 days to 12 months.

Manx Care, which runs the island's health service, would have three days to reach an informal resolution, five days to acknowledge and respond to a formal concern, and 20 days to give a further update if needed.

If the public are still unhappy at that stage they can escalate the complaint to a new independent ombudsman which is intended to replace separate health and social care review bodies.

This "should give confidence that neither Manx Care or the DHSC are marking their own homework", Mr Hooper said, with the ombudsman to cover complaints across the entire Manx NHS and commissioned services like GPs.

The "modernised system" was part of a push to ensure patients receive a "quality service" while ensuring staff had the right training, he added.

Tynwald will be asked to approve a set of regulations which will see the new system put in place once the Manx Care (Amendment) Bill 2022 has been given royal assent.