Manx Care and DHSC ‘100 percent committed’ to keeping RDCH open

Public meeting held last night confirmed plans for services to be reinstated at the facility

Manx Care and the Department of Health and Social Care say they are ‘100 percent committed’ to keeping services in the north open.

Last night a public meeting was held in Ramsey for residents to learn about the future of the Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital and its current situation.

Residents raised concerns about renal dialysis, GP surgeries, ophthalmology as well as the general upkeep of the building and what issues have been fixed.

Service Plan and Schedule

It was confirmed by Manx Care that it has a plan in place on how it is bringing services back to the cottage hospital.

Of the 13 services offered, three have returned to the site – Minor Injuries Unit, X-Ray and DEXA Bone Scanning were all back on site prior to this year’s TT fortnight.

Three remained on the site but were moved around to facilitate the remedial works.

The Outpatient Clinics were moved to a different part of the building but have since returned to their original location.

The dermatology service also stayed at the hospital and is due to move ‘closer to its original location’ in the coming months.

Its phototherapy service is expected to be up and running again this month.

The Blood Test and ECG clinic was also moved to a different location but has now been moved back to its original location.

Manx Care says it has ‘firm plans’ to reinstate four of the services.

The ultrasound service was delayed due to a ‘technical fault’ with equipment and once it has been addressed, is planned to be returned in the next three months.

Dental services will also return to the site in the next three but in a mobile building.

It’s currently being ‘configured’ and is hoped to be up and running from September.

The Martin Ward Inpatients Unit is due to be reopening in three months in its original location.

As part of the Martin Ward reopening Physiotherapy will be reinstated.

Renal Dialysis patients have been treated at Noble’s Hospital during the closure, with one resident telling the meeting she had spent £8,000 on taxis to get to appointments.

The service is currently ‘preparing to return’ within three months and will be in the main building.

CEO of Manx Care Chris Stockport says there are also plans to expand the services it can offer:

However, this couple say they’ve struggled during the closure:

Tissue Viability (wound care) and the Continence Service are now delivered from Jurby.

This resident said he would like to see Ophthalmology services back at the cottage hospital:

Assurances and ‘Northern Resilience’

During the meeting, assurances were given to residents by Health and Social Care Minister Claire Chrisitan, CEO of DHSC Tim O’Neill and Dr Stockport that the RDCH would remain open.

Mrs Christian also said that having the services reinstated in the north ‘benefit all residents’.

She added that the RDCH is important to maintain healthcare ‘resilience’ should anything happen to Noble’s which meant it couldn’t operate:

This is something that Dr Stockport also agreed with:

The panel also said the north has much better services than anywhere else and has had successful trials of integrated mental health nurses and physiotherapists.

A number of residents raised concerns about the state of the building, the cost and future maintenance.

Mrs Christian confirmed the maintenance of the building is the Department of Infrastructure’s responsibility and the cost of it is included within their budget.

However, she was unable to provide information on how much had been spent on the cottage hospital.

Local Perspectives

Ramsey Commissioners had been calling for the meeting since April when the issues with the hospital were becoming more widespread.

The local authority said it had invited representatives from the DOI to attend but they declined the opportunity.

Chair Sandra Cottam-Shea says residents were able to share their stories about the hospital and believes they came away with answers to the most pressing concern: