Health Minister Claire Christian will seek Treasury funding to clear the waiting list backlog on cataract operations.
And she is urging fellow MHKs to support the bid when it is made.
It comes as she revealed that, while the appointment of a second specialist would begin to help clear the backlog, that wouldn’t have a meaningful impact until 2029. So Manx Care is looking to engage private consultants to assist in the meantime.
Noting the concerns about the deficit in the government’s structural deficit, she told the House of Keys: “This will be dependent on whether we get Treasury concurrence.
“These are going to be decisions that we are going to have to make as a House. I hope they will support this.”
Long Wait for Patients
Christian revealed that, as of the start of this month, 1,469 patients who have had an initial consultation or assessment were awaiting cataract surgery.
“Of these patients, 816 have been waiting more than 12 months since it was decided they would have surgery,” she said.
She said the new consultant was expected to take up post by April 2027.
“This appointment will increase annual cataract surgical capacity to 1,332 procedures, compared with an estimated annual demand of 1,000 procedures.”
How Long Before Things Improve?
The minister was replying to questions from Douglas East MHK Joney Faragher.
Responding to the figures supplied by Christian, Faragher said that amounted to about an extra 132 procedures per year, and asked how that would reduce the backlog.
Christian said: “Based on the increase in capacity through successful recruitment in April 2027, and with no further capacity being introduced, we will reach a 12-month wait from the decision to operate to the patient having their cataract operation by March 2029.
“To reduce this further, Manx Care are scoping how they could continue to use external providers during 2027/28 until the waiting list time has reduced.”
A business case would be drawn up based on “availability” of investment.
“Once the waiting list has reduced to an acceptable level, the newly appointed ophthalmologist will have sufficient capacity to maintain that waiting list, which is really important.”
Quality of Life
Faragher pledged to support the Health Department in any bid.
She said the additional impact of a long waiting list included “potential consequence of falls, loss of independence and increased reliance on care services”.
Christian agreed, but admitted: “The social side is something that is quite difficult to, practically, show a set of accountants in the Treasury.
“That is really important. We are talking about quality of life.”
Christian said the longest waiting time for someone due a cataract operation, that she knew of, was two years, nine months. But she did not dispute claims made on social media that delays had reached three years in some cases.
You can hear the full exchange on the question here:
