Hospital bed review 'no threat' to TT races

Potential pressures on beds at an Isle of Man hospital pose "no threat" to this year's TT races, the health minister has said.

It follows plans for a rapid review of bed capacity at Noble's Hospital in the wake of concerns raised by medics over a potential shortage.

Pressures on the hospital are one of the factors taken into consideration by race organisers ahead of the start of every practice or race session on the island.

Claire Christian told the House of Keys she was "absolutely getting assurances" from Manx Care that the mitigations already put in place had "secured the TT".

Tim Glover MHK asked if the independent review of bed capacity would "reassure the minister that there is sufficient capacity for the TT", which was "only a matter of weeks away".

Glover highlighted a previous delay to the start of a session on the Billow Circuit in the south of the island due to insufficient hospital capacity.

Christian said while she was not sure about that particular situation, it was not possible to anticipate a rise of "incoming through A&E".

"The most important thing is that races go ahead and they go ahead safely," she said.

MHKs Lawrie Hooper and Julie Edge both questioned why the Department of Health and Social Care had not foreseen the potential issues with capacity as bed numbers were reduced over the past two years.

But Christian said the current situation had arisen partly because of the additional pressure being put on the emergency department through the temporary closure of much of Ramsey Cottage Hospital for refurbishment works.

That had been a "fast-moving" situation since a pest control issue arose late last year, and the scale of the works needed could not have been foreseen, she said.

The minister previously confirmed measures already being progressed to relieve pressure on services and the 233 beds available at Noble's included the planned opening of a 12-space extended assessment area in the emergency department for patients that needed observation but not admission.

The minor injuries unit was also set to be relocated back to Ramsey in a modular unit alongside radiology services, with work ongoing to relocate the Martin Ward facilities back to the town too.

The progression of the bed capacity review was a "good example of partnership working at all levels," she said, which meant that "frontline health and social care staff have spoken out and been heard".

She told the House of Keys a report on the review should be completed by the end of May.

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