The Speaker of the House of Keys thinks ‘we still don’t have a health system in which the public can have confidence’.

Juan Watterson spoke to the Examiner ahead of the December sitting of Tynwald today (Tuesday).

He will ask Health Minister Lawrie Hooper for an update on an ombudsman for the health service.

An ombudsman is an official appointed to investigate complaints against a given body.

The position of ombudsman was created in October as part of a Manx Care initiative to tackle patient complaints.

Mr Watterson said: ‘An ombudsman is urgently needed to build staff and patient trust, improve outcomes and ensure a safe working environment for all.’

A chair has been appointed to the body, however, the chair is not named on the government website.

The Examiner asked Manx Care about the identity of the chair of the ombudsman body, however Manx Care had not replied by the time we went to press.

There is also no phone number available for the ombudsman, but there is an email people can contact.

Mr Watterson said: ‘It has been six years since the Department for Health and Social Care accepted the policy of an independent health and social care ombudsman and 18 months since the motion outlining the failures in the complaints service.’

healthcare

Currently, if a patient has an issue with a healthcare service provided by Manx Care then it is first looked at internally by the healthcare provider.

It then can be escalated to the DHSC or taken to an independent review by the Health and Social Care Ombudsman Body.

The Manx Care complaints procedure outlines the conditions under which the ombudsman operates.

It says: ‘You can request a review by the ombudsman body up to 12 months after the date on which you became aware of the matter alleged in the complaint, or up to six months after a decision in writing has been issued; whichever is later.’

Before this ombudsman, which came into effect after October 31 this year, was created, claims were handled by the Independent Review Body.

Mr Watterson said: ‘We are all aware of the shortfall in front line staff in health and social care.

‘An ombudsman should also support workers from being put into a position of unsafe practices or where budget is being put above common sense solutions.’