Chief minister warns healthcare spending trajectory is unsustainable without reform

Alfred Cannan says Manx Care remains the Island's biggest challenge as government grapples with rising costs and long-term pressures

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan has warned that healthcare spending on the Isle of Man cannot continue to rise at its current pace without difficult choices being made elsewhere in government.

Speaking on Manx Radio's Mannin Line, Mr Cannan reflected on findings from the Mersey Internal Audit Agency report, which highlighted structural, financial and governance failings across both Manx Care and the Department of Health and Social Care.

He believes the overall messages from those involved in assessing the health service was that reform should not mean dismantling the system entirely, describing it as a case of not "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".

However, he acknowledges that Manx Care now represents "the big challenge of the day" for government.

Mr Cannan explains that Manx Care was created in response to persistent overspends when healthcare services were run directly by the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside concerns about day-to-day operational management.

He says healthcare spending had risen sharply in recent years, with the government now investing double the amount it was at the start of the current administration. He also pointed to the need to clear significant backlogs build up during the Covid-19 period, including an additional £20 million investment to UK provider Synaptik to tackle outpatient waiting lists.

According to the chief minister, there is a clear need for government to improve delivery and regain control of spending. He warns that if the costs continue to rise at the current rate, "something will have to give".

He outlined what he describes as stark choices: either accept the service operating as it current does, with increasing pressure on the government's overall budget, or identify efficiencies and alternative ways of funding healthcare in the long-term.

Mr Cannan says advances in medicine and people living longer were positive developments, but inevitably placed further strain on the health service.

He stressed that responsibility for addressing the challenge could not be placed on any single individual.

"You can't point this at one person [chief executive of Manx Care], it's everybody's job", adding responsibility sits across the system.

He suggested government may need to challenge the system more robustly, take a broader view of societal trends, and develop pre-emptive policies aimed at improving population health, with the goal of reducing long-term pressure on the healthcare system.