Minor injury services mooted for weekend mornings

The minor injuries unit in Ramsey closed at weekends in July, initially on a temporary basis

Options to reinstate morning-only services for patients with minor injuries in the north of the Isle of Man at weekends from mid-November are being considered, the health minister has confirmed.

Claire Christian previously said the minor injuries unit (MIU) at Ramsey Cottage Hospital would remain closed at weekends until further notice.

She apologised in Tynwald for "inaccuracies" in that written answer and clarified that in May the Manx Care board had only approved a six-month extension to the closure, which had been caused by staff shortages.

In July 2024 the MIU closed at weekends for three months and was kept shut beyond that point to save the additional costs of hiring agency staff.

'Period of review'

Christian said the decision by the board to extend the closure was due to ongoing MIU staffing difficulties both at Ramsey Cottage Hospital and Noble's Hospital.

She said although the situation had "modestly improved" in recent months, there had still been "fewer nurses than were required to keep both units open safely seven days per week".

However, she said "given the recent uncertainty around the future of the MIU at weekends and its impact on the local community", the health care provider was "exploring options to enable weekend openings during mornings only, including an X-ray provision from mid-November".

She added: "We hope this will allow a period of review to take place both within the auspices of the Urgent and Emergency Care Transformation Programme, as well as consultation with the public around the future operating model for the MIU."

Lawrie Hooper MHK said not informing the public about the ongoing changes to services was in breach of the Manx Care Act, which required the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to make sure they were "communicated effectively".

In response, Christian said the DHSC was reliant on "Manx Care informing us for us to be able to do that".

In this case, she said, "we weren't informed".