Some surgery suspended as Isle of Man hospital admissions rise

There are currently no patients receiving treatment for Covid-19 at Noble's Hospital

Non-urgent orthopaedic surgery has been suspended at the Isle of Man's main hospital after a "higher than average" rise in winter hospital admissions, the health minister has said.

The "regrettable" step was taken to ensure there was capacity at Noble's Hospital to cope with winter demand along with a possible rise in Covid-19 patients, David Ashford said.

Daily admissions are currently 50% higher than the same period in 2019.

Emergency operations will continue.

Mr Ashford said the current rise in admissions was the result of a "mix of acute care needs" and there was "no one significant single cause".

Current pressures on UK hospitals as a result of the pandemic has led to changes to the management of care on the island, contributing to the rise in local admissions.

A contingency plan has already been put in place to further reconfigure the hospital if there was a resurgence of Covid-19 on the island in future.

Mr Ashford said it was "very regrettable" operations had been cancelled and he hoped the suspension was very temporary, but added that there was a need to "act now... to ensure we are well prepared".