More than 1,200 people share thoughts on future of nursing care funding

Public asked to share thoughts on two options of funding model

A consultation on how nursing, residential and home care should be paid for in the future has become one of the Isle of Man Government's most responded to of all time.

More than 1,200 people shared their thoughts.

It's taken almost a year to compile the results of the consultation because of the sheer number of people who took part.

It was one of the top 10 highest responses received for a government consultation in recent years, which it says demonstrates how strongly many people feel about this issue.

The questions on the table were a choice between two different models and continuing with the same system.

The 'Free Personal Care' model would see people given this type of care at no charge, regardless of their income or assets.

Meanwhile, the 'Mixed Model' would be based on a threshold and cap scheme, designed to protect the family home.

Only five percent wanted to continue with the current model, while it was almost an equal split for the two options - 48 percent supporting free personal care and 45 percent opting for the mixed.

Two percent of respondents chose not to answer.

Now, the Health and Care Transformation Programme team are testing a sliding scale of thresholds and caps that are a percentage of a person's overall income or assets, rather than standard set amounts.

Once that work's been finished, it will be shared with Treasury to consider how, and if, a new model might be funded.

It's expected the findings and recommendations will be presented to Tynwald in 2025.

You can find the results of the consultation in full here.