The Chief Executive of Manx Care says it is unrealistic to expect the Sir Jonathan Michael review to be used as the benchmark for health funding.
Teresa Cope spoke to Manx.News as the Treasury agreed to pay it an extra £800,000 to ensure some on-island services can go ahead between now and April.
With Manx Care due to be over budget by around £15m this year, roughly the same amount as savings it has also made, the issue of whether the service is over budget or underfunded has been raised by MHKs.
However, when we put this to Ms Cope, she said that achieving the funding level set out in the report, which was written in 2019, is probably not realistic” given the island’s economy which combines a low tax economy with high demands and an elderly population.
Misalignment
Ms Cope said: “Those two things do not correlate, there is a misalignment between those two things.
“We have a very ambitious mandate with an awful lot of standards to achieve, and we have made best endeavours to deliver as much as possible, but the fact is, we’ve got elements of our responsibility for commissioning which are uncontrollable.
“So this is why it’s really important to try and get a better grip on that.”
The Manx Care CEO gave the example of some high cost placements that will be up to £500,000 a year and how having multiple of those placements quickly add up to hit finances.
She added: “I think the Sir Jonathan Michaels recommendations, they’re now six years old, they were done at a time in a very economically different climate.
“They were done pre COVID, and they were also done pre comprehensive inspection from CQC and Ofsted, which, to be fair, has presented in 2022 23 a sort of new baseline of of what are the key things that need to be delivered and what are the standards for the island?
Unhelpful
“I think it’s unhelpful to keep coming back to Sir Jonathan Michael’s recommendations, because I just don’t think they’re possible.
“We know the impact of health and care funding has on the wider economic position, and we know if health care overspends, the detrimental impact that has on the wider finances of government.
“So, you know, everybody is in a very difficult position, hence, moving forward, what the Chief Minister outlined in October is this desire to make sure Manx care has a mandate which is properly costed and fully aligned with the budget available.
“So hopefully we will move away from that misalignment, and it will be really, really clear to everybody concerned, what what that money buys.”
You can see our full interview with Ms Cope below:
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