Isle of Man men face two-year wait for vasectomies

Manx Care said while the current wait was about 24 months, there were just 14 men on the waiting list

Prioritising urgent medical procedures at Noble's Hospital means men will now have a two-year wait if they want a vasectomy, BBC research has revealed.

Manx Care confirmed the waiting time after a number of those wanting the op said they waited more than 18 months.

It said surgeries were "slotted in" when possible, but there had been a "reduction" in GPs trained to do them.

Sam, from Onchan, said he had been waiting since June 2020 and had been told to expect a further two-year wait.

He said it was a "simple procedure", when compared to what was available to his wife, and while he appreciated that Covid-19 had put "strains on the health service", he could not afford to pay the £600 to have it done privately.

'Reasonable amount of time'

Troy, from Peel, said he had been waiting since February 2020 and was getting "very, very frustrated".

He said it was annoying that he could not "go to the healthcare system that is provided for us to be able to get something done".

He said to have it done privately, he would need to travel to Liverpool and the overall cost would be more than £1,000.

He added that while he knew the surgery was not considered "urgent", he would expect it to be possible within a "reasonable amount of time".

He said the wait was "not just affecting myself, it's affecting my partner", adding that she had had to use birth control, which was "affecting her body".

The spokeswoman for Manx Care said while the current wait was about 24 months, there were just 14 men on the waiting list.

However, she said the urology team only had access to "one theatre list per week", which also had to cover all patients with prostate or bladder cancer and other urgent urological problems.

She said the provider was "looking to train additional GPs to deliver this service".