I would like to draw your readers' attention to the fact that from April they will not be covered by the NHS in the Isle of Man for anything other than immediate accident and emergency treatment.
Similarly, anyone from the Isle of Man will not automatically be treated in UK hospitals on the NHS.
The reason for this is that the United Kingdom’s government has decided to drop its longstanding reciprocal health agreement with the Isle of Man.
This does not make any sense and is contrary to the strong, friendly relationship between the UK and the island that has lasted for centuries.
The Isle of Man’s government already pays for its patients to receive specialist care in several hospitals in the UK for many conditions. That will not be affected by the changes.
Since that mechanism exists, and since the Manx NHS and the UK NHS run on very similar lines, there is no question that people from the Isle of Man go to the UK as ‘health tourists’.
The UK’s government has imposed the new measures on the Isle of Man without negotiation. Politicians on the island say that their counterparts in the UK have refused to have meetings about the issue.
The Isle of Man is a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom. It is about 30 minutes by air from Liverpool.
Many people from the UK retire in the Isle of Man. Many Manx people have moved to the UK.
As health insurance is harder to get as people age, there is a danger that families will be split up by this measure as people are too scared to travel between the two countries.
Young Manxmen and women risk their lives for the Crown, as part of Ministry of Defence operations.
When they leave the armed forces, they won’t be entitled to treatment in the UK. Many men and women who currently live on the Isle of Man and who once served in the forces will not be entitled to healthcare in the UK from April.
Visitors from the UK are less likely to know about the changes to the reciprocal health agreement and could find themselves with a hefty bill if they fall ill on the Isle.
The UK has reciprocal health agreements with many other countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Serbia. In a few months’ time, it will not have such an agreement with a small country for which it is responsible for ‘good governance’.
I would like to appeal to any of your readers who visit the island or who have friends and family here to contact their MP and ask him or her to try to persuade the UK government to change this decision and to negotiate with the Isle of Man government about the issue.
Richard Butt
Editor
Isle of Man Newspapers
