Manx Care and the Department of Health and Social Care have insisted they are '100 per cent committed' to keeping healthcare services in the north of the island.

A public meeting was held in Ramsey on Thursday evening, giving residents the chance to hear about the future of Ramsey District Cottage Hospital and receive an update on the ongoing remedial works.

Residents raised concerns about renal dialysis, GP services, ophthalmology, the condition of the building and what repairs have already been completed.

Manx Care confirmed it has a phased plan to restore services to the hospital.

Of the 13 services previously provided, three have already returned to the site. The Minor Injuries Unit, X-ray and DEXA bone scanning resumed before this year's TT fortnight.

A further three services remained at the hospital but were relocated within the building while repairs took place.

Outpatient clinics have now returned to their original location, while dermatology has remained on site and is expected to move closer to its former base in the coming months.

The blood test and ECG clinic has also returned to its original location, while the phototherapy service is expected to resume later this month.

Manx Care said it has firm plans to reinstate a further four services.

The ultrasound service was delayed by a technical fault with equipment but is expected to return within the next three months once the issue has been resolved.

Dental services are also due to return within three months from a mobile unit currently being configured, with a September opening hoped for.

The Martin Ward inpatient unit is expected to reopen in its original location within three months, with physiotherapy services also returning as part of the reopening.

Manx Care said work would continue in phases as more areas of the hospital are made available, with services returning as soon as they are safe and operational. The organisation said restoring care closer to patients' homes remains a priority.

Renal dialysis patients have been treated at Noble's Hospital during the closure, with one resident telling the meeting she had spent £8,000 on taxi fares travelling to appointments.

Manx Care said the dialysis service is now preparing to return to the main hospital building within the next three months.

Manx Care chief executive Chris Stockport said he was 'really pleased' so many people had attended the meeting and shared their views.

'I think there were some great questions, which were really well structured, and there were some honest answers,' he said.

'We've all got a story to tell where the service hasn't gone well, and it's very easy to judge an entire service on one poor experience you've had. I appreciate that and I'm sorry people have gone through that.

'But I do know that, at the heart of the hospital, the Hippocratic Oath is at the centre of everything we do.

'I'm delighted that the hospital is going to reopen and take some of the strain off Noble's.'