A tribunal has ruled a Noble’s Hospital patient was not discriminated against because of his religion and beliefs.

Troy Angelo Mincher alleged he was forced to wear a face covering when he attended the hospital overnight on October 25-26, 2021, for a suspected appendicitis.

At that time, special measures were in operation relating to Covid-19.

Mr Mincher refused to have a coronavirus swab taken, considering it to be against his spiritual and Hindu beliefs, and claimed he was denied treatment for refusing to wear a face mask, from which he said he was medically exempt.

This, he maintained, amounted to discrimination on the grounds of his religion and philosophical beliefs as well as a breach of his human rights, victimisation and disability discrimination.

But Manx Care denied that the complainant had been compelled to undergo a swab as a condition of emergency or urgent treatment, and neither had he been denied treatment on account of his refusal to wear a face mask.

He had consented to have an MRSA swab, the tribunal heard.

And the respondent said he had left the hospital of his own volition without informing staff of his decision to do so.

Mr Mincher alleged he was refused pain relief on the first evening and staff failed to remove a cannula despite his repeated requests and had been prevented from leaving his bed or the room, which amounted to harassment, before he had ‘escaped’.

He said an aggravating factor was he was suffering from other serious illnesses including acute spinal pain from a previous injury.

The complainant’s mother said her son was a member of a spiritualist church and had practiced as a spiritual medium for about eight to 10 years.

He had now taken on views of Benedictine monks as well as Hindu beliefs.

In its ruling, the tribunal found that Mr Mincher had failed to prove his disability was ‘substantial’. It said it didn’t doubt the sincerity of his beliefs but these didn’t amount to a protected characteristic as they didn’t meet the test of being cogent and cohesive.