Two senior Department of Health and Social Care officials have told Tynwald’s select committee on whistleblowing that they have no formal oversight of how the policy is implemented at Manx Care.
Interim Chief Officer Tim O’Neill and Designated Whistleblowing Officer Louise Quayle, both in post since June 2025, gave evidence on Thursday.
Mr O’Neill confirmed the department does not monitor whistleblowing cases at the arm’s-length body.
“At the moment we don’t,” he said. “One of the things that I’m sure colleagues around the table will know, since I’ve been in post, we’re doing is to look at areas where we should be closer to Manx Care than we currently are. This may well be one.”
One Case
Ms Quayle said she has dealt with only one whistleblowing case since taking up her role, which was under the previous policy and involved an anonymous report.
She noted that mandatory training compliance in the DHSC currently stands at 78%, with the remaining 22%, about 12 people, to be spoken to by Mr O’Neill.
Mr O’Neill acknowledged potential conflicts in the current internal system.
When asked about independence in investigations, he said: “I know there are potential risks with an independence approach, particularly around decoupling those staff who are going to be delivering the change long term with the process.
“Having said that, I’m sure there are circumstances where a more independent approach would make good sense.”
Ms Quayle confirmed she has not yet received formal training for her role as designated officer, having signed up for a course with no available dates.
This follows near identical evidence from her DESC counterpart, who also said she has not received that formal training.