Hospital bed occupancy exceeds 90% in multiple years as pressure builds at Noble's

Figures highlight sustained high occupancy across adult acute wards, and a recent rise in patients waiting in ED for beds

Hospital bed occupancy at Noble’s Hospital has remained consistently high in recent years, with several months seeing more than 90 percent of adult acute beds filled, according to figures released in response to a Tynwald written question.

Manx Care released the data covering acute inpatient wards and is based on a ‘midnight snapshot’ taken each day since January 2021.

Included are areas such as the Acute Medical Unit, Frailty, Stroke, Trauma and Orthopaedics, and General Medicine, but excludes wards with restricted admissions such as intensive care, maternity and paediatrics.

Across the period, average occupancy rose from around 142 beds in 2021 to more than 158 in 2023, before easing slightly in 2024.

In 2025, the average number of occupied beds fell further, although overall occupancy levels remained high because the number of available beds within the recorded bed base also reduced.

Monthly occupancy regularly reached levels above 90 percent.

January and February 2023 both recorded average occupancy of around 92 percent, while September of the same year reached a similar level.

Several months also show very limited spare capacity. In early 2023, the average number of vacant beds dropped to just over 14. By comparison, the figure had been close to 35 in 2021.

Late 2025 saw some of the tightest apparent capacity in the dataset, with October’s average number of vacant beds falling to just over 12, before dropping to fewer than 10 in November.

At the same time, the number of patients waiting in the Emergency Department (ED) for an inpatient bed increased.

The yearly average rose from around one patient waiting in 2021 to more than two by 2023 and 2024. By 2025, the figure had increased to around 2.5 patients on average.

January 2026 saw the average number of patients in ED awaiting a bed reach just over four.

The data also shows some seasonal patterns, with winter months often coinciding with higher occupancy and fewer available beds.

Operational pressure across the hospital is measures using the Operational Pressures Escalation Level system, otherwise known as OPEL. The scale runs from level one (indicating business as usual) to level four (signalling extreme pressure requiring a system-wide response).

Records show that OPEL level four was declared on a number of occasions during the period, particularly during winter months including late 2022 and early 2023.

Manx Care notes that some changes to ward configuration took place in October 2025, including the transfer of Martin Ward to Ward 19 and the relocation of the Stroke Unit from Ward 7 to Ward 4.

The health body also says it’s currently unable to provide figures for the number of staffed beds, explaining that this information is not held digitally.

Instead, staffing levels are managing through ward ‘rosters’ and reviewed twice daily, with staff moved between wards to respond to demand.

Manx Care says work is underway to introduce a digital staffing system to improve the way workforce data is recorded and monitored.