Health Minister Claire Christian insisted in Tynwald that Noble’s Hospital is operating at above internationally recognised safe operating levels for bed occupancy.

She was responding to a nurgent question from Onchan MHK Julie Edge who asked what action was being taken in response to a call by senior doctors for immediate intervention on bed capacity.

The Medical Staff Committee, made up of 75 senior hospital doctors and consultants, claimed there were 314 beds at Noble’s before Manx Care was formed in 2021 but there were now just 168 - a 46% drop.

It said a ‘critical’ shortfall in inpatient bed capacity is resulting in poor outcomes for patients and taking a psychological toll on healthcare professionals.

But Manx Care insisted there were 279 in 2021 and there are now 233, a drop of 16.5%.

In Tynwald, Ms Christian sought to clarify the numbers.

She said the 314 number of beds was a historical figure dating back to when Noble’s Hospital first opened in 2003.

Nearly 10 years ago, this had already begun to significantly reduce, she said, with the 2017-18 annual report citing 240 beds.

She said that Manx Care had advised that on its inception in 2021 there were 279 beds, which did not include the Private Patients’ Unit, which has closed previously for refurbishment, and currently there are 233 beds.

The Health Minister said: ‘Manx Care continues to monitor the bed occupancy closely as a core operational indicator.

‘They have informed us that the bed occupancy for the current financial year stands at 86.9%. Internationally recognised safe operating levels is 85% .’

She said Manx Care has outlined the current range of measures to manage and mitigate pressures on hospital bed capacity.

Ms Christian said: ‘A number of operational actions have been taken within Noble’s Hospital on occasions where demand has been high.’

This included keeping the day procedure suite open overnight to provide additional temporary bed capacity and the establishment of an intermediate care service in 2024 that she said has enabled more care to be delivered in the community.

She said this had reduced the number of medically fit patients occupying acute hospital beds from an average of 23 to five.

Manx Care has also secured additional external capacity through the purchase of nursing home beds for patients who are medically fit to leave hospital but are awaiting onward care arrangements, the Minister told Tynwald.

But Ms Edge said: ’The Manx public are now at the point that they feel they have lost complete confidence in Manx Care at the present time.

‘What is the Minister going to do with regards to receiving accurate figures without this constant changing of the goal posts?’

The Minister replied: ‘We are aware that there have been variable numbers regarding bed capacity, and we have raised that with our Manx Care board colleagues. This is in part due to the reality that bed capacity is constantly changing as the hospital adapts to its needs.’