Ferry firm responds to patient facility concerns

The Steam Packet Company says it is working to improve patient facilities on the Ben-my-Chree ferry while the Manxman replaces services until late September.

It follows concerns raised by Tim Glover MHK, who has warned that patients travelling home from medical treatment could be left without adequate privacy or even a seat.

Glover said the Ben-my-Chree has no cabins available to passengers, after they were converted for crew to live aboard.

He said the smaller ship's limited capacity during peak season meant patient transfer passengers needed guaranteed seating, at the very least.

Glover, who has been raising the issue with the Department of Health and Social Care, said the underlying problem was one of dignity as much as logistics.

"Quite a number of patients, particularly when they're coming back from a hospital appointment in the north west of England or further afield, don't have the option of flying because the procedure has ruled that out," he explained.

"So they have to come back on the boat, and quite often they would book a cabin just to have some decency, some privacy and some dignity, while they came back from sometimes quite life-changing procedures."

The Ben-my-Chree has beendrafted in while the Manxman undergoes repairs.

In a statement, the Steam Packet Company said cabins had been repurposed as crew accommodation "to provide greater operational resilience".

The company added: "With crew accommodated on board, we can operate a sailing from the Isle of Man to Heysham, remain in port for an extended period, and then return to the Isle of Man as soon as conditions allow. This enables us to maintain some services when disruption occurs, rather than cancelling multiple sailings."

It said it continued to offer a range of accessible facilities on the Ben-my-Chree, including designated vehicle lanes after check-in, special assistance parking near the lifts, transport assistance for foot passengers, early boarding for medical reasons, dedicated accessible seating on request, accessible toilets, and wheelchairs at all ports and vessels.

For patients with significant mobility needs, it said it was "working closely with the Patient Transfers Team and the Ambulance Service" to ensure they were accommodated "wherever possible" on services to and from the island.

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