Health Minister Claire Christian has outlined a new preventative healthcare scheme being trialled in the north of the island, while facing questions over its potential impact on already strained routine GP appointments.
The ‘Fit Check’ initiative, piloted by Ramsey Group Practice, proactively invites registered patients aged 18 to 39 for short consultations with practice nurses and trained staff.
Ms Christian told Tynwald the pilot, launched earlier this month, reflects a “broader shift towards prevention and earlier intervention”.
She said that “approximately 3000 patients have been contacted” and “just over 100 appointments have been booked”.
Resources
Addressing concerns about resource allocation, the Minister stated the pilot “has not affected access to routine or urgent GP appointments, as it is delivered entirely by nursing and auxiliary staff whose capacity has been sufficient to support the delivery”.
However, Liberal Vannin leader Lawrie Hooper challenged this, noting average waits for a routine GP appointment across the Island exceed a week.
He argued the scheme diverts clinical time, asking: “What would she say to people who are waiting more than a week for a routine GP appointment… instead of actually giving these appointments to people who, by her own admission, actually aren’t the ones seeking these appointments?”
In response, Ms Christian stressed the need for balance which “supports prevention and early intervention”.
Speaker Juan Watterson asked how the pilot’s success would be measured against outcomes for patients on waiting lists.
Ms Christian told him that the evaluation, led by Public Health, would determine any wider rollout, adding: “I will have to advise the honourable member in terms of what measures they will be looking at, but I can certainly supply that information.”