There is little sign of strong senior leadership at Manx Care - and less than a quarter of doctors say they’d recommend it as a place to work.

These findings of an annual survey of island doctors are a ‘damning indictment’ of the Isle of Man’s arm’s length healthcare provider, according to the doctors’ union the British Medical Association.

They are revealed in the latest Culture of Care Barometer Survey – an annual survey which seeks the views of doctors in the island about the health service they work for and the standards of care it provides.

Doctors were asked if the Manx Care listened to staff views and more than 60% of those who replied disagreed or strongly disagreed with that premise.

And only 13% of respondents said they saw evidence of good leadership at senior levels.

When it came to their day-to-day work of caring for their patients, only a quarter of respondents believed they had the resources they need to do their job well and just over a third say they had the time they need to do their job well.

Dr Prakash Thiagarajan, chair of the Isle of Man Medical Society, which incorporates the Isle of Man division of the BMA, said: ‘Once again, we are seeing survey results that tell us very little is improving in Manx Care.

‘Doctors without the time or the resources to care for their patients as they’d like to or do their jobs as they should.

‘Less than a third of those who replied feel proud to work for Manx Care and less than a fifth believe that unacceptable behaviours are dealt with consistently.

‘People on the Isle of Man should not be cared for by doctors who are demoralised and we should not have a health service staffed by doctors who do not believe they are valued by senior leaders at Manx Care.’

He said the Society has been having talks with Manx Care chief executive Teresa Cope over how these issues, and those of pay and safer staffing, will be addressed.

The BMA’s chair of Council, Dr Tom Dolphin is due to visit the Isle of Man today (Friday) to meet doctors and government Ministers.

A Manx Care spokesperson said: ‘We are currently awaiting the report and will need time to receive and review its findings in full. Once this process is complete, we will come back to you in due course with a response.’