Following the extreme pressures experienced over the past 48 hours, Manx Care is providing further detail on how services are managed during periods of exceptionally high demand.
Manx Care can confirm that pressures have since begun to stabilise, and services have transitioned from OPEL 4 to OPEL 3 as demand becomes more manageable. While this indicates an improvement, services across Noble’s Hospital remain busy and the organisation continues to closely monitor capacity and patient flow.
Planned elective procedures are continuing wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so. While a small number of operations were rescheduled at the height of pressures, the majority of routine and planned care has continued, and restoring elective activity remains a priority. Patients affected by recent changes are being contacted directly, and every effort is being made to minimise any further disruption.
During this period, Manx Care escalated to OPEL 4, the highest level of operational pressure.
The declaration of OPEL 4 is a structured and widely recognised escalation process, used internationally to indicate that pressures have reached a level where normal operations are no longer possible. At this stage, immediate actions are required to protect patient safety and dignity.
This is the second time in the past 18 months that Manx Care has needed to redeploy elective capacity in order to safeguard urgent and emergency care services.
The decision to declare OPEL 4 reflected a combination of significant operational pressures, including:
- Very high adult bed occupancy
- Patients waiting more than 12 hours in the Emergency Department
- A large number of patients awaiting assessment in the Emergency Department
As part of these actions, 19 elective operations have been rescheduled and are currently in the process of being rebooked. The cancellation of planned care is always a last-resort measure, taken only when necessary to ensure the safety of patients requiring urgent treatment.
Manx Care’s Interim Executive Director of Operations, Shaun Stacey, said:
‘Our priority at all times is to keep patients safe and ensure those who need urgent care are treated as quickly as possible. The past 48 hours have seen exceptional demand across our services, and declaring OPEL 4 enables us to take the necessary steps to manage this safely. We recognise the impact that rescheduling appointments can have, and we are contacting all affected patients directly to rebook their care at the earliest opportunity.’
