The controversial moving of endoscopy services from Ramsey Cottage Hospital to Noble’s will reduce waiting times by 27 weeks says Health Minister Kate Beecroft.

A requisition meeting at Bunscooil Rhumsaa to discuss the hospital’s future attracted about 140 people.

Mrs Beecroft said at the meeting last week that the reduction in time spent travelling to Ramsey by doctors, as well as changes to how the endoscopy department works, would bring waiting times down from 33 weeks to six weeks in a year.

The Health Minister said: ’Over 1,650 people in the island are currently waiting for an endoscopy - that’s around one in 50 of our population.

’We estimate that in a year we are losing 300 procedure slots on average, because doctors are in a car instead of a hospital.

’We can recoup these 300 slots by seeing patients solely at Noble’s Hospital.

’Bearing in mind that we know we are not as efficient as other endoscopy services in the UK, management and clinicians have looked at how we operate our endoscopy clinics.

’With the existing number of staff we are confident that by changing how we work, we can run 18 clinics a week across all three endoscopy rooms, increasing our throughput. That’s an additional 16-20 hours of time which we can see patients each week, up by around 40 per cent. But that is only possible if the nursing staff that run the three sessions in Ramsey are at Noble’s.’

But Ramsey Commissioners’ chairman Andy Cowie said after the meeting: ’A primary reason for the change in location was stated as being that of "patient safety" but the department was not willing to disclose the precise nature of their concerns in that respect.

’The minister also kindly offered to provide details of the business case to the commissioners for onward circulation to attendees.

’Assurances were also provided that the staff would be encouraged to continue to operate at Ramsey Cottage Hospital outside the functions necessary for the endoscopy clinics at Noble’s and that there were plans to extend the dermatology clinics in Ramsey.

’The attendees were unanimous in their view at the conclusion of the meeting that "the endoscopy unit should be restored to Ramsey Cottage Hospital until such a time as a sustainable plan for future working with the unit at Noble’s can be agreed with all parties."’

Before the meeting welfare trustees at Ramsey Cottage Hospital announced a moratorium blocking all future funding in protest at the move.

In a statement the trustees claimed that ’stripping’ the operating theatre of staff and equipment would ’effectively render it redundant’.