Cost of extra medical staff during Isle of Man TT to rise above £300k

Extra medics, surgeons and ambulance workers are included in the spending

Drafting in extra medical staff to bolster health services during the 2023 TT races is expected to cost more than £300,000, Manx Care has said.

Around 30 workers have been recruited for the fortnight, which sees thousands of visitors travel to the island.

The island's health provider has released the total cost in response to a freedom of information request.

It shows more than £117,000 has been spent to boost emergency department and ambulance staff to provide urgent care.

This includes the creation of a dedicated trauma team to deal with increased demand.

Manx Care said the cost of extra staff for the duration of the the major road racing event would be funded from its existing operating budget.

The extra staff include three Great North Air Ambulance Service paramedics

based on the number of incidents at the 2022 races, Manx Care estimates it will spend more than £107,000 on callouts and transfers by the regular air ambulance and the Great North Air Ambulance combined.

Seven staff in total from the Welsh Ambulance Service, along with three critical care paramedics from the Great North Air Ambulance Service have been temporarily recruited.

Charges at specialist hospitals in the north west of England, additional orthopaedic trauma surgeons and increased blood transfusion capacity make up the rest of the £300,000 total.