Independent external reviews of the island’s health services are set to resume this autumn.

The next phase of reviews will be split across two visits scheduled for October this year and February 2018.

They will once again be carried out by the West Midlands Quality Review Service, which has been reappointed following a competitive tendering exercise.

The reviews will examine a range of services - across mental healthcare, hospital care, and community healthcare.

When the eighth and final review is published in the second half of next year, it will mark five years since the programme was announced.

Health and Social Care Minster Kate Beecroft MHK said: ’I have long been a proponent of independent reviews for the island’s health services and so I am pleased to see the programme will continue later this year.’

The Minister is committed to exploring the prospect of an independent health regulator.