Welfare trustees who’ve raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for equipment at Ramsey Cottage Hospital say the decision to transfer endoscopy services have left them in a dilemma.

Giving evidence to the Tynwald select committee investigating the move to centralise endoscopy at Noble’s, welfare trustees chairman Dr Andrew Kelsey said: ’Why do we feel annoyed? Because we’ve stuck very closely to our remit.

’We’re not political. We don’t interfere with policy. We remain in the background, in the backroom where we prefer to be.

’But we feel we must comment now. If you see something heading over the cliff you are obliged to say something.

’We have an obligation to the people who gave us money that it’s used sensibly, responsibly and in the spirit and manner in which it was given. That’s given us a dilemma.’

The committee heard that the welfare trustees, which were established in 1954, had spent £340,000 funding endoscopy equipment at Ramsey - and a total of £3.2m this century at various developments at the hospital.

They had been prepared to fund replacement equipment but there was a question mark over whether they would be able do that now the service is based at Noble’s.

Dr Kelsey insisted there had been no consultation about the move. He said the first he had learned that all endoscopy services at Ramsey had stopped was when the hospital rang him on May 10.

Dr Kelsey, who carried out endoscopy procedures himself at Ramsey until his retirement, said the service was excellent, as confirmed by the West Midlands quality review inspection team.

Staff themselves, just days before the announcement of the move to Noble’s, had been led to believe services were going to be expanded.

Dr Kelsey said trustees had difficulty trying to find out what the reasons were for the decision.

He said the DHSC had initially suggested there were safety issues, which surprised him given the verdict of the West Midlands team. ’It was misleading at best, mischievous at worst,’ he said.

The witness questioned whether alternatives had been explored.

Committee chairman David Cretney MLC asked if people may be more reluctant about future charitable giving.

Dr Kelsey said that was inevitably the case and those who had given had been quite specific in the charity they were supporting, choosing to fund equipment for the Cottage Hospital rather than for the DHSC generally.

He said Minister Kate Beecroft had apologised to the trustees but added: ’She has not apologised to the people who gave their money. It’s not our money.’