The private patients’ unit at Noble’s Hospital will close on January 7, as planned.

The closure, originally announced by Health and Social Care Minister David Ashford in October when he said the current facilities were ’not fit for purpose’, will mean the temporary suspension of in-patient and day case private medical treatment, and private operations.

A three-month notice period was given for the unit’s closure so that most procedures booked at the time of the announcement could be carried out.

Private consultations at Noble’s will continue, either in clinical rooms within the private unit until the refurbishment of the unit begins, or for certain specialities - such as ophthalmology - elsewhere in the hospital.

Diagnostic investigations, such as blood tests, radiological imaging and endoscopy will continue to be provided to private patients.

A team at the hospital is meeting consultants regularly to plan for the private consultation work that will continue in the New Year.

The private unit, an integral wing of Noble’s, was opened in 2003.

The health services says this will ensure that the hospital’s facilities compare well with private units in the UK.

When the upgraded unit re-opens, a new private healthcare system for the Isle of Man will be in place, the Department of Health and Social Care says.

A press statement from the health services says this will ’better able to meet the needs of people who wish to use it either through private health insurance or with their own funds’.

The move was met with criticism from some.

One consultant, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Examiner in October: ’This will remove public choice and make recruitment and retention of consultants more difficult.

’Why would they want to work at Noble’s if there is no opportunity for them to do private health work for at least 18 months?

’Morale is already low among staff. There has been no consultation on this, and the future for existing consultants is completely unclear with regards to private practice.’

When the closure announcement was made in October, 37 out of 55 consultants at Noble’s were registered to undertake private patient work - but some only did limited private work there.

Later a hospital consultant tendered his resignation in protest at the suspension of private medical services.

In his resignation letter, which was seen by the Manx Independent, the consultant cardiologist said the cessation of private practice was the ’final nail in the coffin’.

And in a hard-hitting broadside at hospital bosses, he wrote: ’This is without doubt the most dictatorial, confrontational and intransigent management structure that I have ever had the misfortune to work with.’

In the announcement confirming the closure of the ward, Mr Ashford said: ’Although the closure of the private unit may feel like the start of our ambitious plans, in reality, we are some way along the road already. One example is that we have looked to see how much interest there is among organisations to become our partners in developing and operating the new private medical service. We have received a number of expressions of interest and will have discussions with potential partners early in the New Year.

He added: ’At the same time, we continue to talk to consultants about how they will manage their private practice. Inevitably, some work will have to stop: as private theatre, inpatient and day case work, which all require staffed private beds, will be suspended for a period. The inconvenience to all concerned is a regret, but we are taking a bold step and there’s no way round this: for a new facility to be created, the old one has to close.

’Research suggests there’s a strong market for private healthcare on the island, and when we have a service which operates as a successful business, we can expect it to contribute to funding DHSC health and social care services elsewhere.’

A Freedom of Information request earlier this year revealed that 36 consultants have left Noble’s in the past five years.