Senior doctors at Noble’s Hospital have criticised the Department of Health and Social Care’s rapid review of bed capacity.
The Medical Staff Committee argue the review’s conclusion that no additional beds are needed is “fundamentally flawed” and risks patient safety.
In a statement, Medical Staff Committee chair Mr Andre Risha said the 10‑day review placed too much emphasis on internal processes and “behavioural issues”, while ignoring long‑established evidence from bodies such as the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and NHS England that hospitals operating above 85% occupancy face system‑wide gridlock.
Risha said clinicians “work tirelessly to manage risk on the frontline”, but warned that attempting to solve a structural bed deficit through efficiency measures alone “simply means moving vulnerable patients through the system too quickly”, increasing readmissions and forcing the continued cancellation of elective surgery.
He added: “We cannot substitute physical infrastructure with process changes.”
The MSC is urging DHSC and Manx Care to move beyond short‑term administrative reviews and commit to an evidence‑based expansion of Noble’s baseline bed capacity to protect patient safety and ensure sustainable hospital flow.
