Over 400 Manx people have been affected by an error within in the UK healthcare system where their addresses have been incorrectly changed.
People who have accessed healthcare services in the UK in the last 12 months may have had their residential address changed in error.
If you have accessed healthcare services in the UK in the last year and continued to receive correspondence from Isle of Man healthcare settings, it is likely you have not been affected.
Not Heard?
However, if you have expected to hear from such services since being seen in a healthcare setting in the UK and have not, please take the following action:
- Get in touch with your GP practice to make sure that your address details have not been changed;
- Make contact with the relevant healthcare setting with which you may have missed an appointment, so that a new appointment can be made, or you can be fully informed of when an upcoming appointment is due.
UK Error
This follows the identification of an issue where temporary UK addresses, provided during stays in the UK, were incorrectly recorded as permanent addresses by NHS systems in England.
This may have unintentionally affected patients’ registration with their GP on the Isle of Man.
The issue was first identified by a Manx Care department during the implementation of a new database system.
Further Cases
The new system revealed that some patients’ addresses had been changed to UK addresses.
To date, approximately 430 patients have been affected.
A recent update has identified 16 additional cases in April and May 2025, and further cases may emerge as awareness increases.
What’s Being Done
Manx Care is actively collaborating with UK healthcare bodies and Integrated Care Boards to improve how address changes are managed, particularly for patients moving between the Isle of Man and the UK.
For the 430 affected patients identified so far:
- Manx Care have contacted their Isle of Man GP practice to verify their current residency.
- Primary Care Services have updated records to reflect the correct Isle of Man address and will continue to do this if further address changes have been found.
- If a patient’s residency cannot be confirmed, GP practices have been given six months to make contact. If no response is received within that period, the patient will be removed from the practice list.
Manx Care has been in discussions with UK healthcare providers to review reciprocal arrangements and to reiterate the importance of not replacing records.
Potential Impacts of Error
- Incorrect residential addresses held by GP practices on the Isle of Man – it does not mean that patients will lose their place at their GP practice.
- Missed or delayed invitations for routine screening programmes (e.g., cervical, breast, or bowel cancer screenings).
- Missed or delayed appointments at Noble’s Hospital clinics.
Manx Care apologises for any confusion or disruption this may have caused.
If you have any concerns or questions, please contact MCALS@gov.im or call 01624 642642.
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