Manx Care has admitted that communication ‘could have been better’ after a group of Isle of Man patients travelling for treatment were left to spend the night on the floor at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Isle of Man Today understands that around nine individuals using the Patient Transfer service were affected after their flight back to the island on the evening of Wednesday, June 25, was cancelled due to fog.
According to Carole Male, vice president of Mannin Cancers and administrator of the Isle of Man Patient Transfer Facebook page, the group were not informed they had hotel rooms available and were unable to secure alternative accommodation themselves due to illness and mobility issues.
She described the evening as ‘very stressful’ for those involved, many of whom were travelling with serious medical conditions.
‘Many of our patients were booked on last night’s IOM flight from Liverpool, which could not go because of fog,’ Ms Male said.
‘I agree that is an issue beyond Loganair’s control, but I would be very grateful if this could be handled differently in future and the patients’ wellbeing overnight considered first – before fit and healthy passengers.’
She added: ‘Many of our patients have terminal illnesses or have undergone painful treatment that day, one had even had surgery.
‘Patients are already struggling just to stay alive. That alone is extremely stressful.’
Ms Male said some passengers had managed to book hotels but patients were unaware these were available or full, and were too unwell, some using crutches or drips, to queue and check availability.
‘They returned to the airport at around 11.50pm, as they had been told to be back by 5.30am for the early flight,’ she explained.
However, after spending an uncomfortable night in the terminal, the patients were then bumped off that early flight and rebooked onto one later that evening.
A message from one of the patients said: ‘Around nine of us altogether stayed in the airport overnight.
‘We had no offer of assistance from Swissport, no food or drink.
‘I have to say the airport assistance team at Liverpool went above and beyond, desperately trying to get answers for us and checking we were OK.
‘But the way we were treated by Swissport was abysmal.’
They added: ‘This was our first time using patient transfers and it made an already distressing time even harder, especially after receiving worrying news.
‘We’re now worried about our future care.’
‘From what we’ve reviewed, it appears that the correct processes were followed on the night.
‘Passengers were advised to book their own accommodation and submit expenses to Loganair for reimbursement, and this is being followed.
‘Our 24-hour emergency phone number was also available and received one call, where advice was given.’
However, they acknowledged: ‘Manx Care recognises that communications could have been better, and we’ve now amended the travel warrant given to patients to emphasise that they can call our out-of-hours service for help if affected by travel disruption.’