Trials offering a virtual GP have proved successful but a decision has yet to be taken on whether it will be introduced more widely.

Health Minister Claire Christian says Manx Care is evaluating the service which will then be overseen by her department.

She provided the update following a written Tynwald question from Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper who asked the if she would progress of the recent virtual GP trial.

In her response, Ms Christian said: ‘The virtual GP trial commenced on March 31, in collaboration with Ramsey Group Practice.

‘Following an “expressions of interest” exercise, Tekihealth was appointed to work with Ramsey Group Practice and Manx Care to pilot adding GP appointments into the system via telephone appointments.

‘Between April 1 and October 31, the pilot has supported 2,475 telephone appointments with a GP.

‘This is an average of 413 additional appointments per month.

‘The pilot is being closely monitored and in October 2025 Manx Care conducted a Friends and Family Survey for the Isle of Man Virtual GP Service to measure patient satisfaction and experience. From 26 responses, 20 (77%) indicated a strong satisfaction for the service.’

The Virtual GP was used for a range of interactions, including advice, prescriptions, and referrals for further investigation.

In the majority of cases, general advice was given or prescriptions were issued. Some cases were escalated to a face-to-face GP appointment while in some cases sick notices were issued. A significant number also saw requests for further investigation.

Ms Christian added: ‘Manx Care will undertake an evaluation of the current service, which will be presented to the Department of Health and Social Care.

‘This will include consideration of alternative models of virtual GP provision, both on-island and off-island, to inform any future decisions regarding service expansion.’