A new regulatory regime for health services in the island is not expected to be up and running before next year, it has been confirmed.

Although plans for a health regulator have been on the table for a number of years, Health Minister David Ashford said the need to ensure the system dovetailed with the changes to health service provision recommended by the Michael Report meant the wait continued.

The report by Sir Jonathan Michael recommended a number of changes in the island, including the creation of a single public sector organisation, Manx Care, to be responsible for the delivery and/or commissioning from other providers of all required health and care services.

He said Manx Care should be an ’arm’s length body’, appointed by government and approved by Tynwald, but independent of both.

Mr Ashford told the House of Keys the idea was to phase in a regulatory regime.

’The plans at the moment, as they stand within the transformation programme, are to have the phased baseline inspections in place for the early start of next year, ahead of Manx Care coming in to force next year as well,’ he said.

’Because the main part around the recommendation of the Sir Jonathan Michael Review is that the report goes to both the department (of Health and Social Care) and to Manx Care, which will be providing the services.

’So the plan is to tie the two together and have the baseline inspection regime in place at the same time.’

Talks with the Care Quality Commission about introducing a regulatory system in the island were continuing, he said.

But his predecessor as health minister, Kate Costain (Douglas South), said at the point she was sacked, at the turn of 2017/18, the DHSC was already working out the details with CQC.

She said it had taken ’an extraordinarily long time’ from the first contact to building a business plan last year.

But Mr Ashford argued that no scoping of the project had taken place when he became minister in January 2018.

He added: ’This is something that was never, ever, going to be quick because what we are looking to do is get a defined set of quality standards with a comprehensive regulatory framework which delivers an overall framework of quality and continuous improvement.

’We are not trying to do a tick-box exercise.’

He said: ’The scoping is being undertaken now and it most likely will have to be a phased rollout rather than a big bang.’