The Bishop has moved to distance himself from a recently-launched patient’s association which is calling for an urgent review of the management at Noble’s Hospital.
Bishop Robert Paterson said he has no idea why his name appeared as patron on the website of the Isle of Man Health and Care Association.
He said he has no knowledge of ever having been contacted by that association in the last five-plus years that he has been Bishop.
His name has since been removed from the IoMHACA website.
Bishop Robert recently agreed to act as ‘a listening ear’ to those with either concerns or praise for Noble’s Hospital.
After concerns about standards of patients care were raised by hospital consultants and in Tynwald, he says he will make himself available for anyone to express their views in confidence and he will forward those comments to an independent external audit committee.
In a statement, he said: ‘There has been some confusion as to the role the Bishop has accepted in relation to Noble’s Hospital.
‘The Bishop has simply agreed to listen to and/or read both affirmative and negative comments, and to collate and report on these comments confidentially to the forthcoming review.
‘He does not belong to, nor is he a patron of the Isle of Man Health & Care Association, nor of any patients’ forum or other such association, and he has no political affiliations.’
IoMHACA secretary Andrew Jessopp said there had been a ‘misunderstanding’. The charity was officially launched a few months ago to represent the views of health and care service users. It claims to have more than 100 members and supporters. It supports the call for an urgent review of Noble’s,