The 2023-24 Mandate to Manx Care has three objectives for the island’s health services, which are value and sustainability, safe and consistent care, and prevention and integration.
Created by the Department of Health and Social Care and Manx Care, the document includes smaller aims to reduce waiting lists, fill workforce vacancies, and improve data sharing and security processes.
There will also be a focus on delivering services locally, raising awareness of how and where some services are delivered to improve use of GPs, pharmacies and other community support.
Specific targets have been set for Manx Care as part of its Oversight Framework Metrics. These figures will be collected monthly, and will demonstrate the standards being met.
The targets range from ensuring that 95% of patients are seen and either discharged or transferred within four hours of attending the emergency department, that the average number of cases for each adult social worker is between 16 and 18, and urgent referrals take place within two weeks.
Health Minister Lawrie Hooper said: ‘I am pleased to see the continued progress this mandate document sets out.
‘The Island Plan tasks us with improving healthcare services, and the actions and services set out in this mandate will support making that possible.
‘The metrics included will help us monitor the standards of service being provided and the impact of changes.
‘Providing services in the last two years has been difficult because of local and global pressures, and we expect the financial position to continue to be challenging.
‘However, I’m confident that we can look forward with island healthcare services to see improved delivery of those positive changes over the course of the year.’
The 2023-24 mandate also sets some longer term goals for 2024 and beyond, to help Manx Care plan budget and resources more efficiently.
Read the full mandate and metrics on the DHSC Oversight Metrics webpage.