Expansion of inspection of health and social care

New regulations are set to be progressed to expand the monitoring and inspection of health and social care services and activities on the Isle of Man.

The Regulation of Health and Social Care Bill would replace 2013 legislation in which the health department said its regulatory functions were limited.

It follows Sir Johnathon Michael's 2018 review of Manx health services, which concluded the existing regulatory regime was not "sufficiently robust to protect the public".

The move would expand the government's registration and inspection team's remit to monitor all health or social care activities and treatments that carry a risk to people's safety.

Information sessions will be held by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in Douglas and Ramsey for members of the public, and service users and providers.

Currently the registration and inspection team is responsible for registering, inspecting and monitoring social care and non-NHS health care providers, such as nurseries, childminders, adult care homes and domiciliary care.

Under the bill, hospitals, dentists, GPs, physiotherapists, and mental health and cosmetic services would need to be registered with the team.

The new legislation would see those services overseen in a "risk-based inspection regime".

The department said while healthcare inspections had taken place by invitation of the DHSC or Manx Care, there was "no regular, consistent, and comprehensive regulatory inspection regime".

There were also currently no agreed standards in which inspections could "systematically assess" service providers, the department said.

Information sessions will be held from 17:30 to 18:30 GMT on 14 January at Ballakermeen High School, and on 21 January at Ramsey Grammar School.

The draft bill, currently in progress with legal drafters, was pending feedback from the upcoming sessions and the DHSC.

The department said it intended to progress the new regulations through both branches of Tynwald in 2025, before implementing them in phases.

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