A programme was recently broadcast on Manx Radio during which Kate Beecroft, who is Liberal Vannin Party Chairman, raised her concerns about the treatment of her father, Norman Costain, by the DHSS.

She told listeners that she had made two formal complaints and had asked for three specific issues to be investigated which are:

1) The emergency doctors service had prescribed twice over the telephone, without making a home call to ascertain how serious Mr Costain’s condition was;

2) His treatment on Ward 5;

3) His subsequent transfer by ambulance to a nursing home.

She went on to say that after making the complaints various friends and acquaintances had asked Mrs Beecroft how her father was. When she related just some of what had happened to him they nearly all told her that while it was shocking they were not surprised as they had heard of similar incidences.

Mrs Beecroft found this lack of surprise very disturbing as it was becoming more apparent that her father’s case was not the isolated one she first believed.

Therefore, she decided to ‘go public’ and ask people to contact her if they had had similar problems. 

Since the programme Kate said, “The people who have contacted me have confirmed what I feared that this is a greater problem than I thought. Some of their stories are heartbreaking and most people don’t complain as they believe theirs is a one off instance as well. Also the complaints procedure is not one that can be faced easily if you are recently bereaved or emotionally upset. Because of this it is possible that the DHSS do not realise the extent of the problem and that is why I am asking people to contact me. They need only give the briefest of information and do not even have to give me their name. I can be contacted by telephoning 853352, by email at kate@troutbeck.net or by writing to me at Troutbeck, Strang Road, Union Mills.”

The Manx Herald is, perhaps, unsurprised by Mrs Beecroft’s, and her father’s, experience as we have also been contacted by many people dissatisfied by their, or of their relations, treatment at the hands of the DHSS.

As previously reported by the Manx Herald, we have put some of the complaints we have received to the DHSS for an answer but they have refused to respond, and chosen to cowardly hide behind a wall of silence.

The Manx Herald believes their refusal to respond to our questions, and openly address the very valid and serious issues being raised, demonstrates that the senior management and political leadership in the Department is lacking in moral fibre; and needs to be replaced by personnel that the public can have faith in to correct the all to obvious failings in the Department.

The taxpayers in the IOM are paying top dollar for their ‘health’ service but are in fact receiving, in some cases, less than a third world service; particularly when it comes to the care of the elderly or those with mental health problems.

Furthermore, ten of thousands of pounds, or more, of valuable funding has been squandered on items like ‘Tamiflu’ which have been shown to have limited, if any, value in treating people with the swine flu.

DHSS Minister, Eddie Teare MHK should hang his head in shame and do the decent thing and resign and allow someone with a bit more empathy for his fellow residents to take control.

Perhaps it is time for a former member of Health Services to get a call to come in from the wilderness and take charge; but some how we doubt it will happen.