IOM DHSC & MANX CARE

[Banker]

1 hour ago, Hoops said:

I was wondering when Ramsey's MHK's (They really don't appear to act for Ramsey,mind, they've both gone on to bigger things) are next going to hold a political surgery? Last one I can find for the representatives of the great city on the Northern plains is April.

I also wonder what the point is of bringing anything like this scandal up with MHK's who answer to comin, and not the people?

Suppose you could go to government conference & speak to them!!

[Roger Mexico]

1 hour ago, 2112 said:

I think these two clowns probably think they have more important things to be concerned with, than their constituents. However there are only a few MHKs that do political surgeries, or want to get involved in local parish pump matters. Some won’t pick up their phones or deal with emails at weekends. 

To be fair, it's because it is so much easier to contact MHKs nowadays that it would have been decades ago, before email, mobile phones, Facebook and so on.  Constituency surgeries are much less useful and popular than they once were.  People can now get in touch quickly and MHKs pop round to see them about urgent things.  I suspect those MHKs like Callister who still hold them regularly, mainly attract those who want to drop in for a cup of tea and a chat.

[cissolt]

1 hour ago, Roger Mexico said:

To be fair, it's because it is so much easier to contact MHKs nowadays that it would have been decades ago, before email, mobile phones, Facebook and so on.  Constituency surgeries are much less useful and popular than they once were.  People can now get in touch quickly and MHKs pop round to see them about urgent things.  I suspect those MHKs like Callister who still hold them regularly, mainly attract those who want to drop in for a cup of tea and a chat.

The surgeries seem to be full of ladies around my age popping in between games of bridge.  Free tea and biscuits in exchange for votes.

[WTF]

4 hours ago, cissolt said:

The surgeries seem to be full of ladies around my age popping in between games of bridge.  Free tea and biscuits in exchange for votes.

that's how it works , don't forget to ask for your gate hinges to be oiled ( not a metaphor ) 

[cissolt]

28 minutes ago, WTF said:

that's how it works , don't forget to ask for your gate hinges to be oiled ( not a metaphor ) 

Most complaints seem to be issued that could and should be solved by the commissioners.  But our local authorities seem to be a bigger disaster than Tynwald.  Same allegations of bullying and hushed up payments to former staff.

[Newsdesk]

On 9/5/2022 at 6:57 AM, joebean said:

Perhaps, when you are defending the indefensible, the only course of action is to delay, frustrate, obfuscate and obstruct the case against you. It may, therefore not be about being incompetent but following a strategy. If that is the case, who decided on the strategy and why?

Yes there is always that. I’d say it’s more likely that they thought it would be the usual pushover hearing that they’re normally used to winning even though they’re shit. 

[snowman]

1/3 of midwives approaching retirement age

 

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/rcm-there-should-be-red-lights-flashing-about-maternity-services/

[Jarndyce]

1 hour ago, snowman said:

1/3 of midwives approaching retirement age

I have a feeling that this problem might apply to other areas and departments around the hospital - but everyone knows that only doctors and nurses work in the health service, so I’m sure it won’t affect anything important…🤔

[code99]

Points to note:

1. If, under Manx Care’s ‘rule’ and whilst the MC Board Members, including the CEO Teresa Cope (I stand to be corrected) remain based in the UK, should anything like Dr Ranson’s case happens again, then it seems to me that a similar (no-one-has-any-responsibility-for-anything-going-wrong) ordeal would almost certainly recur - only the names and faces of the participants would be different.

2.1. It seems to me that the MC agreement was (legally) flawed, possibly by design. It is now clear that the MC agreement means that the Minister for Health/ DHSC only has responsibility for Health and Social Care policy and he/she has no responsibility for the operations of IOM health services - this is an absurd situation. The responsibility has been contractually delegated to a bunch of ‘professional administrators’ who are located outside of reach of the IOM’s Courts. If MC were ever to become ‘dysfunctional and uncooperative’ then, based on what has been revealed in the Ranson case, it appears that there is no legal way any of the MC Board Members could ever be held to account in the IOM - not by our Courts and not by any of our elected politicians, including the Health Minister and the Chief Minister. Surely, this is a very unsatisfactory situation? Did the AGC look into the details of, and understand, the MC agreement before Tynwald obligingly nodded it through? And if they did - did the AGC alert any of our MHK’s to these, and possibly other, red flags?

2.2. Although it is good that a journalist and a retired MHK are publicly voicing their concerns, where are the voices of our political leaders on this issue? Rather than voicing their concerns or even asking probing questions, they have chosen to remain publicly silent. I believe the current Health Minister should challenge the whole arrangement with MC. E.g., having senior officers of his department domiciled outside of this country, where they can never be held to account, is an unacceptable arrangement to say the least.

3. It must be also be obvious to everyone who has been following the Ranson case that the IOM’s whistleblowing legislation is in need of an urgent revamp and that reputational damage to the Island’s standing arising from Dr Ranson’s case will be great and long lasting. Maybe the simplest way forward is to copy the England and Wales legislation, with an option to review and consider different bits from the Scottish law as well? Where is the voice of the current Health Minister on Dr Ranson’s torment? Is he in favour of supporting Dr Ranson and the rightness of her cause? Is he in favour of seeing the interests of justice being met? IMHO, all MHKs need to get off the fence and publicly declare where they stand on this case in particular, and on IOM whistle-blower protection in general.  

4. My other take-away from the latest instalment of the ‘Paul and Chris show’ is that the current members of the HoKs are unwilling to perform their basic roles as the representatives of the people. Instead of performing their public duties they have self-identified themselves as members of the ‘House of Cowards’. That said, there is still time and opportunity enough for them to redeem themselves. If they go down the route of a public inquiry into the Dr Ranson debacle spearheaded by independent QCs from the UK - that would be commendable. Unfortunately, the risk is that even a public inquiry would be yet another waste of taxpayers’ money and absolutely no lessons would be learnt. I am not sure that we have the right calibre of people in Tynwald right now that would have the courage needed to achieve anything positive. Fundamental change on all of these issues is needed.

Edited September 6, 2022 by code99

[Non-Believer]

The whole purpose of the introduction of the Ministerial System (back in 1986) was to make sure the buck stopped with the relevant Minister. I'm trying to think of one occasion where that has been the case. It's been one long tale of, "It's not me Guv" ever since.

Something is flawed.

[Jarndyce]

37 minutes ago, code99 said:

the MC agreement means that the Minister for Health/ DHSC only has responsibility for Health and Social Care policy and he/she has no responsibility for the operations of IOM health services - this is an absurd situation.

Absurd, maybe - but how nice it must be for the Health Minister to be completely removed from the firing line regarding front line services.   No wonder they all voted for it!

[Gladys]

Has the basis on which Magson was engaged ever been clarified?  Was she a secondee or employee? If the former,  what were the terms of her secondment from her employer and who had supervision responsibility for her? 

[wrighty]

@code99- Teresa Cope lives on island.

[John Wright]

3 minutes ago, wrighty said:

@code99- Teresa Cope lives on island.

@code99as do half of the Manx Care board members

[Roger Mexico]

1 hour ago, code99 said:

Points to note:

1. If, under Manx Care’s ‘rule’ and whilst the MC Board Members, including the CEO Teresa Cope (I stand to be corrected) remain based in the UK, should anything like Dr Ranson’s case happens again, then it seems to me that a similar (no-one-has-any-responsibility-for-anything-going-wrong) ordeal would almost certainly recur - only the names and faces of the participants would be different.

As wrighty says and her Board bio confirms: "Teresa has relocated to the Isle of Man with her husband and young son".  However as well as Forster, three of the five Non-Executive Directors live off Island (including the most recently appointed) and I'm not even sure that all the executive members are based full-time here.  For example  Paul Moore, Executive Director of Nursing and Governance, "is retained as a Special Advisor to the Care Quality Commission in England and Wales. He is also currently developing the Quality and Safety Module for the upcoming Executive Director Pathway commissioned by the NHS Leadership Academy".