Hundreds wait more than 12 hours in A&E

Health minister gives update in Tynwald

The health minister has provided new figures showing lengthy waiting times at Noble's Hospital's emergency department.

In February, 311 patients waited 12 hours or more - almost 10 percent of attendees.

Facing questions in Tynwald (21 April), Claire Christian told politicians that Manx Care has not consistently met the four-hour standard of 78 percent.

Instead, performance stood at 57 percent in February 2026.

Ms Christian says: "A key constraint is the physical size of the emergency department at Nobles, and based on the NHS estate's guidance, it is currently around 47 percent of the recommended footprint."

Overall bed capacity at Noble's Hospital is currently the subject of an 'independent rapid review' commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care.

See more HERE.

In the meantime, the DHSC says there are some 'practical steps' being taken to relieve pressure on the system, including a 12-space emergency department Clinical Decisions Unit to 'support short-stay assessment and help avoid unnecessary admissions.

Whereas the minister previously said it would be open by the end of this month, this is now expected by the end of May instead.

Ms Christian says this is due to recruitment "taking longer than expected", but she says work is continuing so it can open as soon as possible.

On the four-hour ED wait time 'standard' Minister Christian added: "When I'm speaking to the clinicians, whilst it's really important to hit a four-hour target, it's also really important to make sure that we don't dispatch people without having full analysis, full everything.

"It's so important that we don't just try and hit a target when it's patients that should come first.

"But that said, the [Clinical Decisions Unit] is looking at the, it's there for a short amount of time, so it's anticipating that a patient would be within that CDU in a limited amount of time of 12 hours."