A service provider for the returning private patients unit at Noble’s Hospital is due to be appointed early next year.

The unit was closed at the start of 2019 and private services offered via the hospital were suspended for up to 18 months while a review of what was on offer took place.

Health chiefs were almost ready to tender for an external provider in the new private unit at the hospital when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

The unit was turned into an operational unit for patients who were Covid-19 positive.

In the summer it was converted back to its original purpose.

Health Minister David Ashford told the House of Keys last week that the wider work on setting up the private patients unit was resumed in August, with two phases.

A specification for the ’procurement of a service by a provider external to DHSC’ has been developed

’The design and specification element of this phase is nearing completion,’ said the minister.

’A competitive tendering process will then follow with the aim of awarding a contract as soon as possible, but definitely within this financial year.’

That is actually the second phase, he said.

The first phase was already underway to provide interim private outpatient services, pre-operative assessment and diagnostics work.

’A small handful of services started in October,’ he told MHKs. ’The next suite of services is due to open in the next few weeks and will include cases which require a short overnight stay in PPU.

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’Finally, the third part of this phase is planned to open in late November, and this will provide for any procedure that requires up to three overnight stays in the unit.’

As an interim position, until a new service provider is found, the services are being run by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Mr Ashford was answering a question from Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey), who remarked: ’It seems that, despite the coronavirus interruption, the minister is actually saying they have made more progress on this than was originally anticipated.

’It is not very often I say this, but I would like to congratulate the Department of Health and Social Care on an achievement there.’

In response to a follow-up question from Julie Edge (Onchan) about what was happening with income from private patients while the department was operating services, the minister said: ’In terms of contracts, there are individual agreements with the various consultants who might be needing to undertake private work in the outpatients, and the money therefore will come in for the time being under this phase as income to the department.’