38 patients sent off-Island for acute mental health treatment since 2020

£18 Million spent on placements at specialist settings

The Isle of Man Government has spent more than £18 million on off-Island placements for mental health patients over the past five years, according to figures from the Department of Health and Social Care.

In response to a Tynwald question from Speaker of the House of Keys and Rushen MHK, Juan Watterson, the Minister for Health and Social Care, Claire Christian, confirmed that 38 individual patients had received acute mental health treatment in specialist facilities outside the Island since April 2020.  Of those, eight were aged under 18.

These off-Island placements are described as highly specialised and include admissions to secure forensic settings, either by court order or as transfers from prison, as well as to other specialist units such as perinatal mother and baby units and eating disorder clinics. The majority of placements were to medium or low secure wards.

The data shows the number of patients placed off-Island each financial year ranged between 13 and 24, with a notable rise in under-18 placements in 2025 so far - three in the current year to date, compared to only two in all of 2020/21 and one in 2023/24.

The average duration of adult placements varied from 299 to 357 days, while younger patients typically spent far less time in treatment, with stays ranging from seven to 23 days. Data on duration for the current financial year is not yet available.

Annual expenditure on placements ranged from £2.87 million in 2022/23 to just over £4.1 million in 2020/21. 

The cumulative total over the five complete financial years stands at more than £18.4 million although costs for the 2025/26 financial year are not yet published in full.

In the reply, Ms Christian notes some individuals with long-term and complex care needs may appear more than once in year-by-year data, as they continue to receive treatment across multiple reporting periods.