Public views are being sought on some of the big themes that will form the basis of a new Isle of Man Health and Care Services Bill, like the right to choice and privacy.
The Health and Care Services Bill consultation will gather comments on policy principles which cover four main areas – service planning, record sharing, service improvement and empowering patients.
The way health and care services are delivered is currently set out in three key pieces of legislation – but these don’t work together as well as they could. There are also some gaps which could limit service delivery and the care available to residents now and in the future.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) hopes to replace those existing fragmented laws with a single comprehensive Health and Care Services Bill.
Some of items in the consultation may appear familiar as they are already being worked on by Manx Care and the DHSC as ‘best practice’. However, enshrining these matters in law through the new Bill will provide better protections, ensuring that service users’ rights are protected and views are properly considered.
The consultation asks for views on what should be prioritised when making decisions about health and care – whether location, accessibility or value for money is most important to patients and service users.
It also asks for views on the sharing of patient records between different services and service providers, following feedback from patients and service users about frustrations when receiving treatment from multiple clinics or from off-Island providers.
Other sections look at the preferred ways of contributing to service development, and how best to empower patients and service users to make their own decisions.
It’s hoped that the final principles will support enhanced integrated service delivery for all patients and service users, and recognise that physical, social and mental health care are symbiotic.
Minister for Health and Social Care, Lawrie Hooper MHK, said: “All of us are touched by health and care needs at some point in our lives, and our current legislation, as highlighted by Sir Jonathan Michael in 2019, needs reform. Critically we want it to remain flexible, effective and facilitate different ways of working together to provide high-quality care now and in the future.
“We’re hoping to do this by replacing three pieces of legislation, that don’t work as well together as we would like, with one fully functional, modernised Bill. It’s going to be a fairly lengthy process to develop this legislation, so we’ve split it into five phases.
“This is the first phase, and we’re asking the public to help us develop the important principles which will underpin the entire piece of work – to tell us what a preferred service looks like when it comes to privacy, location, and preferences.”
The five phases of the new bill will be policy principles, social care, healthcare, cross-cutting issues (like the protection of Manx Care from fraud) and more ‘miscellaneous issues’ like research and development, private provision and complaints. Work on social care and healthcare has already begun, and the remaining phases are planned to take place over the next 12 months.
Have your say on these phase one principles through the online consultation hub, alternatively paper copies are available at the welcome centre, or email copies and responses can be requested via Grace.Phillips2@gov.im. The consultation will close at midnight on 07 October 2024.
