Social media commentary on care homes 'inaccurate and inflammatory' says Manx Care

Health body defends St Christopher's Fellowship after claims of 'serious concerns'

Manx Care and St Christopher’s Fellowship say they are ‘fully committed’ to ensuring the ‘safety and wellbeing’ of children in care on the Isle of Man.

It follows social media commentary, last year, which the organisations have branded ‘highly inaccurate and inflammatory’.

St Christopher’s is contracted by the Isle of Man Government to provide services including the running of children’s care homes and Cronk Sollysh - the secure care home for youngsters.

'Serious Concerns'

In early December 2024 an anonymous individual took to Facebook to post in the ‘Families of Mann’ group to highlight what they said were ‘serious concerns’ which had been raised by St Christopher’s staff.

They claimed there were a number of ongoing ‘critical issues’ including a ‘severe staffing shortage’ with 40 percent of the workforce being agency staff brought in from the UK on a week-on, week-off basis.

In addition they said agency staff were covering the secure care facility which they alleged raised ‘major questions’ about the consistency and quality of care for vulnerable children.

The poster went on to say that this ‘staffing crisis’ should have been reported to government’s Registration and Inspection Team but this had not happened.

They also claimed St Christopher's was taking ‘drastic cost-cutting measures’ like ‘keeping food bills to a minimum’.

A number of MHKs, and the minister for Education, Sport and Culture, were tagged in the social media post.

Response

Manx Radio asked Manx Care and St Christopher's to respond to the allegations and was told a response would be forthcoming before Christmas.

In a statement issued today (6 January) the organisations have now challenged some of the points raised.

They say their joint focus is providing ‘the best quality of care’ working in partnership with other key groups within the Island.

"Manx Care and St Christopher’s take our roles and responsibilities extremely seriously and are fully committed to the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care alongside that of our staff."

Staffing

Manx Care and St Christopher's say they ‘proactively employ’ from within the local community and supplement this, when necessary, with regular and trained agency staff.

They add: “The misquoted levels on this front on social media are highly inaccurate.

“The overarching approach to staffing is to ensure that the needs of the young people are consistently met - especially during times of high occupancy - with the expertise necessary for their often-complex care requirements.

“Any such additional external support staff are fully vetted.”

Claims that there are severe staffing shortages are said to be ‘incorrect’ and recruitment over the last year is said to have been positive.

There are currently 9.5 full time equivalent vacancies across the nine care homes.

Agency Staff

The claim that 40 percent of the workforce is made up of agency staff is ‘incorrect’ according to the two organisations.

Vacancies are said to have ‘significantly reduced’ and are monitored quarterly by Manx Care in conjunction with the contracts and commissioning service.

In December it was revealed that the number of children in the Island’s secure care home had reached the highest level for nine years.

You can find out more HERE.

In response to the demand on Cronk Sollysh St Christopher's says it has commissioned a ‘consistent group of experienced staff’ that work in the unit on a regular basis on a week-on, week-off basis.

These are said to be 'supernumerary' to the establishment of the home and are being used to provide support during a period of high demand as the individuals have experience in working in secure settings in England.

Any vacancies have been covered by overtime and redeployment of St Christopher's staff and managers.

Finances and Cost Cutting

Manx Care and St Christopher's say their focus and emphasis remains on delivering services and support to those in care and budgets ‘remain unaffected’.

The health body adds it has seen the food bill for St Christopher's and is ‘confidently assured’ that there is appropriate ‘good, nutritious food’ for the individuals in its settings.

It adds: "Like any organisation, in the current financial climate, they are prudent with spend in other areas to ensure the focus and emphasis remains on the services and support provided to those in care. 

"Any cost-cutting strategy has focused mainly on central services and agency expenditure."

Registration and Inspections

Registration and inspection reports for children’s homes on the Isle of Man are currently not made public in line with the Regulation of Care Act.

The inspection year runs between April and March.  

Manx Care says facilities are ‘regularly inspected’ and the reports are provided to the health body and shared at the quarterly partnership meetings.

It adds St Christopher's reports staffing issues, where necessary, in line with contractual obligations and commitments and the latest report regarding Cronk Sollysh reported no concerns and showed positive feedback for the service.

The health body also says in recent inspections of smaller homes any issues relating to recruitment and staffing will have been ‘proactively discussed’ and actioned accordingly.

Reports

Manx Radio requested copies of reports from inspections of children’s home carried out in 2024.

Two were provided which were described as ‘fully completed’.

These were for 'Droghadyn' in Douglas which was inspected between August and September.

Inspectors found the service here was not safe, not effective and was not well led; it was found to be caring and responsive.  

Ramsey Respite Centre was inspected in October last year.

Inspectors here found the service was not safe, not effective, not responsive and not well led; it was found to be caring.