Manx Care has published its Operating Plan for 2026/27, outlining how it will deliver health and social care services against a significantly increased budget of £404 million .
The plan accelerates the shift towards community-based care with its “Home First” approach remaining central, prioritising support for people to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible.
The £404.2 million budget for Manx Care represents a £42 million (12%) increase on the 2025/26 allocation of £361.8m.
It marks the first time the funding formula recommended in the 2019 Independent Healthcare Review, led by Sir Jonathan Michael, has been fully applied. The wider DHSC budget, which includes this funding for Manx Care, has been set at £412 million for the coming year.
While the increased allocation has been welcomed, Treasury Minister Chris Thomas introduced it with a note of caution, stating that “the sustained and substantial increase in costs in recent years remains a significant risk to the achievement of our medium-term financial plan” .
Home First
The 2026/27 plan builds on the previous year’s strategy but features more concrete targets for moving care out of hospitals and into the community.
Key initiatives include the development of locality-based “Health and Care Communities” and work to begin delivering “Virtual Wards,” which will allow patients to receive hospital-level care safely at home.
Manx Care Chief Executive Officer Teresa Cope said: “This Operating Plan sets out clearly how we will deliver the DHSC Mandate, building on the progress we have made and focusing on what matters most for the year ahead.
“Our continued commitment to the Home First approach, early intervention and prevention supports our aim to deliver safe, integrated and sustainable care that helps people live well and independently within their communities” .
Direction
The plan also outlines that the financial landscape has shifted markedly from last year.
In 2025/26, Manx Care was tasked with delivering a 2% efficiency target against its £361.8m budget. This year, it must deliver a £6 million recurrent Cost Improvement Plan (CIP) saving on top of a 1% efficiency implied in the funding formula, effectively requiring it to find £9.7m in savings .
DHSC Minister Claire Christian said the Mandate sets a “clear and confident direction of travel”.
She added: “We are realistic about the pressures the system faces – workforce constraints, rising demand, and the needs of an ageing population.
“We also recognise the responsibilities that come with public funding. Fiscal discipline underpins every commitment of this mandate” .
Targets
The Operating Plan includes a series of specific performance targets for 2026/27.
These include clinically and administratively validating 80% of specialty waiting lists, and ensuring that by March 2027, 85% of patients who receive a cancer diagnosis after an urgent suspected cancer referral start treatment within 62 days .
The plan also outlines an ambition to restart private patient services, aiming for 100 complete cases by the year-end. This represents a significant step, following the suspension of such services six years ago.
The full Operating Plan is available on Manx Care’s website.