Manx Care will take over the management of Ballasalla Medical Centre.

This will be done on an interim basis from next month.

It comes after the practice’s decision to formally hand back their contract.

Patients should see no changes to services, Michelle Haywood announced in the House of Keys.

She added that patients do not need to take any additional action.

Manx Care said: ‘We appreciate that this news may cause some uncertainty for patients of Ballasalla Medical Centre, however this decision has been made to ensure that service provision continues to run as smoothly as possible for these individuals.’

The decision was ‘made and confirmed five minutes’ before the announcement was made, she told the House.

Douglas North MHK David Ashford said this is a ‘positive step forward’ and asked if this was a permanent measure.

Dr Haywood said: ‘Manx Care have been clear this is an interim decision. We don’t know much more at the moment what the staffing levels will look like. They will maintain service levels equivalent to where we are now.’

She added there were some expressions of interest in running it but the government hasn’t had time to action anything.

Dr Haywood couldn’t give any details on who has expressed interest in taking over the centre.

Manx Care will take over from May 1.

Anyone who is concerned about this news can contact the Manx Care Advice and Liaison Service Team via email [email protected] or 01624 642642.