Welcome to Snaefell Surgery

With patients' needs at the heart of everything we do, our website has been designed to make it easy for you to gain instant access to the information you need. As well as specific practice details such as opening hours and how to register, you’ll find a wealth of useful pages covering a wide range of health issues along with links to other relevant medical organisations

Signposting - Getting the level of help that's right for you

It can sometimes be overwhelming trying to decide which healthcare provider is best placed to help you with your needs. This guide will signpost you to the most appropriate service or clinician depending on the level of support you need. Please consider whether you need to go straight to the Emergency Department at Noble’s Hospital, or whether you can get the help you need elsewhere. Please also remember that the Emergency Department is there to help you if you need urgent or emergency care, so please don’t delay getting the treatment or support you need. You should always dial 999 in the event someone is seriously ill or injured, their life is at risk, or for any other life-threatening emergency.  Please click on link below for more in depth information

https://www.gov.im/categories/health-and-wellbeing/signposting/

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Important information about patient GP registration and screening/hospital appointments

02 June 2025

Patients who have accessed healthcare services in the UK in the last 12 months may have had their residential address changed by the UK healthcare provider in error.

If you have accessed healthcare services in the UK in the last year and continued to receive correspondence from Isle of Man healthcare settings, such as Noble’s Hospital or Screening Services, it is likely you have not been affected.

However, if you have expected to hear from such services since being seen in a healthcare setting in the UK and have not, please take the following action:

• Get in touch with your GP practice to make sure that your address details have not been changed and
• Make contact with the relevant healthcare setting with which you may have missed an appointment, so that a new appointment can be made, or you can be fully informed of when an upcoming appointment is due.

What happened?

This follows the identification of an issue where temporary UK addresses, provided during stays in the UK, were incorrectly recorded as permanent addresses by NHS systems in England. This may have unintentionally affected patients’ registration with their GP on the Isle of Man.

The issue was first identified by a Manx Care department during the implementation of a new database system. The new system revealed that some patients’ addresses had been changed to UK addresses.

To date, approximately 430 patients have been affected. A recent update has identified 16 additional cases in April and May 2025, and further cases may emerge as awareness increases.

Why this occurred

The NHS systems in the UK and the Isle of Man operate independently but share data when address changes are detected. In some cases, the UK system assumed a permanent relocation rather than a temporary visit, leading to unintended updates to patient records.

What we’re doing about it

We are actively collaborating with UK healthcare bodies and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to improve how address changes are managed, particularly for patients moving between the Isle of Man and the UK.

For the 430 affected patients identified so far:

• We have contacted their Isle of Man GP practice to verify their current residency.
• Primary Care Services have updated records to reflect the correct Isle of Man address and will continue to do this if further address changes have been found.
• If a patient’s residency cannot be confirmed, GP practices have been given six months to make contact. If no response is received within that period, the patient will be removed from the practice list.

We have been in discussions with UK healthcare providers to review reciprocal arrangements and to reiterate the importance of not replacing records.

What patients should do

As above, if you recently received care in the UK, we encourage you to check whether you have received routine screening or hospital appointment invitations. If you suspect you may have missed one, please contact your GP practice to review your records and arrange any necessary appointments.

If you do need to visit a healthcare setting in the UK, please be mindful to inform them during visits that you are a temporary resident, and request that any UK address be recorded as temporary.

Potential impacts include:

• Incorrect residential addresses held by GP practices on the Isle of Man – it does not mean that patients will lose their place at their GP practice.
• Missed or delayed invitations for routine screening programmes (e.g., cervical, breast, or bowel cancer screenings).
• Missed or delayed appointments at Noble’s Hospital clinics.

We apologise for any confusion or disruption this may have caused. Your health and peace of mind are our top priorities.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us at MCALS@gov.im or call 01624 642642.

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MEDICAL CERTIFICATES (Med 3/Med 5)

Please note that medical certificates will be signed by our GP on Thursday afternoon;  patients are therefore reminded to request their Medical Certificate continuation notes on Monday to ensure it will be ready for collection on Friday. Regular reviews of continuation medical certificates still apply and please be aware you may be asked to make a clinical appointment if requested by the clinician.

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SOCIAL MEDIA  DEFAMATION

The partners at Snaefell Surgery LLC welcome comments and suggestions from their patients and these can be submitted via our website or in writing to the Practice Manager.

 If you have a comment or complaint about the surgery we encourage you to report this through the correct channels, not via social media such as Facebook.  The practice always investigates complaints and responds to patients in a timely way.

 The partners will not hesitate to remove a patient from the surgery list if they are found to have made libellous statements or defamatory comments about the surgery or a member of the surgery staff.  The legal definition of defamation is:

 “any intentionally false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person’s reputation; decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person.”

 Thank you

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Patient Participation Group

Would you like to take an active part in the Surgery and shape its services?  We are recruiting new members to our active Patient Participation Group. See attached poster for details.

Patient Participation Group

GP Patient Survey

Why not take a few minutes to complete the Survey using the link below.  It will assist us in improving our service.

www.gov.im/categories/health-and-wellbeing/news/?altTemplate=ViewCategorisedNews&id=143095

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The Reciprocal Healthcare Arrangement with the United Kingdom

Please view public documents on www.gov.im/rha for IOM residents visiting the UK and UK residents visiting the IOM.

If you are ill while away from home or if you are not registered with a Doctor but need to see one, you can received emergency treatment from your local GP Practice for 14 days.

After 14 days you will need to register as a temporary or permanent patient.

Please see leaflet attached below

Advice for visiting the Isle of Man Leaflet

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IMPORTANT PATIENT MESSAGE – PLEASE READ

Thanks for contacting Snaefell Surgery.

If requesting repeat medication please allow at least 2-3 working days for turnaround.

We can NO LONGER deal with clinical queries or appointment requests via email.

***THEREFORE SUCH EMAILS WILL NOT BE ACTIONED***

If you have a medical query or want to talk to a member of our clinical staff,

please request a ‘phone consultation on (01624) 686960.

Please note that our clinical staff do not reply to emails as this is not in keeping with good clinical practice.

 If we do need to contact you, we will endeavour to do this within 72 hours.