Health executives are publishing a booklet about the health and care services available in the Isle of Man.

It will be delivered through people’s letterboxes by the Post Office from December 12.

The brochure, called ‘Signposting your health and care options on the Isle of Man’, has been designed by Manx Care to help people ‘choose well’ by understanding the full range of services that are available to support them.

It ranges self-care through to urgent and emergency care provided at the emergency department (A&E) at Noble’s Hospital using a green-amber-red traffic light system.

A spokesman said: ‘It is a handy A5 sized document that can be easily stored in a kitchen drawer or on a family noticeboard for future reference.’

Self-care 

Ensuring you have a small stock of essential self-care items at home to self-treat, for example paracetamol and Ibuprofen, antiseptic cream, plasters and throat lozenges 

Community Pharmacies 

Minor Ailments Scheme (MAS) 

Community-based care 

Minor Injuries and Illnesses Unit (MIU) at Ramsey Cottage Hospital 

GP surgeries 

MEDS (Manx Emergency Doctor Service) 

Community Dental Service 

MECS (Minor Eye Conditions Service)

Mental Health Crisis Team 

Immediate mental health counselling access for adults (QWELL) and young people (Kooth) 

Urgent and Emergency Care 

Emergency Department (A&E), Noble’s Hospital 

Staff at Isle of Man Post Office will be working overtime to ensure the brochure is ready to be delivered from next week, and out of personal choice will be making a donation to the Isle of Man Foodbank in support of this.

The brochure is also available to download and refer to online at www.gov.im/signposting and at www.manxcare.im.

The information contained within it is also provided in a number of foreign languages (French, German, Polish, Italian and Spanish) for people who may need these options.

A number of its clinicians, allied health professionals and Island GPs have recorded a series of short films designed to help people learn more about their services which will be posted on its social media channels.

Alongside this, a number of short films have been recorded specifically about the Christmas period by staff from Manx Care’s integrated mental healthservice, in conjunction with partners from the Isle of Man branch of the Samaritans and the Isle Listen charity.

The films provide advice and practical tips for people who may struggle with this time of year. 

These range from short films of around one minute in length to around four minutes, covering advice on how to cope with feeling socially overwhelmed and enjoying family activities.

Paul Moore, Manx Care’s executive director of nursing and governance, said: ‘Across the winter period, as demand for healthcare support rises as a result of an increase in things like respiratory illness, it’s really important that people living on the island fully understand all of the options that are available to them if they need to access our services.

‘By helping people to better understand their options, we hope this will empower them to choose well and not automatically use the emergency department at Noble’s Hospital for conditions which could be treated effectively elsewhere.

‘This is really important at any time of the year, but especially so across the winter period when demand for our help is at its peak. We need to try and protect the emergency department for the provision of urgent and emergency treatment to those who need us most. 

‘We know that there are services provided by Manx Care or one of our partners which people don’t know much about, perhaps because these are relatively new – for example MECS (the Minor Eye Conditions Service) provided by Specsavers in Douglas – or the Minor Ailments Scheme (MAS) available through most community pharmacies. Although this has been around for some time, it’s a service which people often overlook yet through this people may be able to receive treatment for a broad range of common conditions.

‘I’d urge people to please read the brochure when it arrives in their letterboxes and then store it safely for future reference, as well as watch our signposting films on social media.

‘The more people understand about our services, the more they will be able to choose well and make an informed decision about where to seek healthcare advice and support.’