Health executives are blaming staff shortages and ‘usual’ winter pressures for high patient numbers at Noble’s Hospital.

The health service announced at the weekend that the hospital was operating under ‘extreme pressure’.

A plan was activated on Saturday to manage this and ensure patient safety was maintained at all times, which included asking members of the public to ‘choose well’ when it came to seeking health and care support.

Those who required healthcare support were told to only use the Emergency Department (A&E) at Noble’s Hospital if they needed to.

Others should have chosen one of the other options available to them across the island which was most appropriate for their clinical needs, including the Minor Injuries and Illnesses Unit (MIU) at Ramsey Cottage Hospital.

The MIU is able to treat a complex range of conditions such as dislocations or breaks, sprains, minor head injuries where there has been no loss of consciousness, minor illnesses such as urine or water infections, ear, eye and throat infections, abdominal pain, abscesses and boils, muscular pain, headaches, rashes, cuts, burns, scalds, and emergency contraception.

People were encouraged to attend the MIU if they required an X-ray or suspected they had an injury which would require an X-ray.

Noble’s Hospital uses the OPEL framework, which is used daily across the UK NHS to describe the operating pressures on a hospital, and is a recognised system for managing patient flow and demand across acute healthcare settings.

It’s measured from one to four, with four being the most severe.

A spokesperson from Manx Care said yesterday (Monday): ‘The recent high OPEL levels are due to usual winter pressures, as well as staffing shortages which are also affecting NHS trusts across the UK.

‘The hospital’s pressure level has now reduced to OPEL 3, but Noble’s is still under pressure, so we ask that you continue to choose well and only use the emergency department at Noble’s Hospital if you need to.’

Oliver Radford, Manx Care’s operations director, said in the announcement on Saturday: ‘Noble’s is operating at OPEL 4 status as a result of the number of individuals who attended the emergency department overnight who subsequently required admission to hospital for further treatment, however there is very limited capacity within our hospitals to accommodate them.

‘I hope this will reassure members of the public that this position is being closely managed to ensure patient safety is maintained.

‘I’d like to take this opportunity to thank members of the public for their support across this weekend. We will be there for you if you need us.’

He added that the X-rays that were offered at the MIU in Ramsey would ‘hopefully take some of the pressure off’ the emergency department at Noble’s.

Other options available for patients at the weekend included the Manx Emergency Doctor Service (MEDS), a GP service which operates out of hours when the island’s GP surgeries are closed, community pharmacies, the community dental service for patients who have a dental emergency but don’t have their own dentist, and self-care, which involves self-treating at home.

Manx Care issued a similar plea on November 15 when a number of seriously and critically ill patients were admitted to Noble’s Hospital across 24 hours, leaving the urgent and emergency care teams stretched given the level of treatment those individuals required.

The same advice was given in response.

Paul Moore, Manx Care’s executive director of nursing and governance, said at the time that sending some people to the MIU would take pressure off emergency care teams at Noble’s and allow them to ‘focus on those patients who need them most’.

He added: ‘Every day we see a number of patients in the Emergency Department at Noble’s who could be treated in another clinical setting, such as at Ramsey, by their GP or at a community pharmacy, and I would urge anyone who can make their way to Ramsey and be seen by the team there to do this.’

There is still X-ray provision at the MIU on weekdays from 9am until 5pm.

The facility itself is open from 8am to 8pm every day.

Meanwhile, the diabetes nursing service is also experiencing very limited staffing at this time, which is affecting some service provision.

No appointments have been affected but the staffing situation may impact patients telephoning the service.

Insulin pump users who need to contact the team and those with an urgent query are asked to call the emergency mobile number (456886) between 8.30am and 3.30pm, Monday to Friday.

The diabetes nursing service is not an emergency service, therefore even when the team are operating at full capacity, anyone in an emergency or life-threatening situation should call 999 for assistance.

Less urgent matters may be able to be dealt with by GPs or the MEDS.

Manx Care said: ‘Please be kind to the team – they are doing their best to accommodate all patients.’