The Isle of Man Trades Council has warned that the island’s health service “remains not fit for purpose” following the debate of the Mersey Internal Audit Agency (MIAA) governance review.
It said that the findings confirm “what staff and unions have been saying for years.”
In its statement, the Council said the island’s health service is “still operating inside a structure that does not work,” describing the problems as “systemic, well-known, and long-standing”.
It said “frontline staff continue to hold the service together, but the system they work in remains confused, unstable and over-stretched.”
The organisation insisted “this is not new information” and added that the failings are “not without an owner”.
Reforms
The Council pointed to commitments made by Alf Cannan when he was Treasury Minister, quoting his earlier declaration that the island needed “a health and care service that is financially sustainable, properly governed and fit for purpose for the future”.
It argued the latest review shows that “the system delivered under his leadership as Chief Minister has not met that promise”.
The review identified a “confused and dysfunctional” split between the DHSC and Manx Care, weak governance arrangements, unstable financial planning, deepening workforce pressures and ongoing failures in data and costing that undermine decision-making.
It also found “no coherent long-term plan to stabilise or improve services”.
Debate
During Wednesday’s Tynwald debate, Chief Minister Alf Cannan raised concerns about the system’s ongoing structural weaknesses and called for reforms to ensure it serves the island while being financial sustainable.
Responding to comments from other members, he warned that without clearer accountability “we are going to go around in an endless circle.”