Welfare trustees at Ramsey Cottage Hospital have announced a moratorium on all future funding in protest at the ’unprecedented’ decision to transfer endoscopy services to Noble’s.

They claim ’stripping’ the operating theatre of staff and equipment will ’effectively render it redundant’.

The RDCH Welfare Trustees, who provide financial support to the hospital either through the trust itself or in association with other charities, point out that all of the of the endoscopy equipment has been funded from charitable sources.

And they have blasted the Department of Health and Social Care’s ’catastrophic communications failure’.

’The current situation leaves us bewildered and without confidence in our future ability to work with the department. This is a situation that we hope will be rapidly rectified,’ the trustees said in a statement.

’We reluctantly now place an immediate moratorium on all future funding, including that previously highlighted for this coming year.’

Tonight, a requisition meeting will be held at Bunscooil Rhumsaa to discuss the future of Ramsey Cottage Hospital.

Health chiefs insist there is no threat to the future of Ramsey Cottage Hospital.

The DHSC says running the endoscopy service on two sites is ’neither efficient nor sensible’ - and has decided to consolidate it at the purpose-built unit at Noble’s.

Tonight’s requisition meeting, which follows a request to Ramsey Commissioners, starts at 7pm.