Manx Care is preparing for the next phase of an ongoing programme of work to upgrade the electrical infrastructure at Noble’s Hospital. This is to replace the electrical switchgear that was installed when the hospital was constructed.
The next phase of upgrades will result in a complete power outage in three separate zones of the hospital across three different periods:
- Monday 24 June - 9pm to 1am
- Thursday 27 June - 9pm to 1am
- Monday 1 July - 9pm to 1am
During these planned outages, the affected service areas will experience a complete loss of mains power with power for temporary lighting and essential equipment coming from external generators. A mobile CT scanner is also being hired to ensure that the imaging service that supports the Emergency Department can be continued whilst the power is off.
Planning for these outages have been ongoing for several months, in collaboration with the Department of Infrastructure, and contingency plans have been developed by each affected area to ensure that service delivery is not disrupted and patient safety is protected throughout. The power outages will be managed as a ‘Critical Incident’ with a full incident command team being in place throughout the power outages to ensure any issues can be responded to and that disruption to patient care is kept to an absolute minimum.
Anyone visiting the hospital during one of the power outage periods is requested to be mindful of an increase in the numbers of engineers being present on wards and in departments in the days and hours before each outage period whilst the temporary cabling and lighting is being erected. Please also pay particular attention to additional trip hazards due to temporary cabling and lighting within the affected wards and corridors.
Oliver Radford, Executive Director of Health Services, said:
'We thank patients and visitors for their patience and understanding during the forthcoming works to upgrade Noble’s Hospital’s electrical infrastructure. Whilst disruptive, the upgrades will ensure resilient and reliable distribution of power throughout the hospital for a further two decades and more, thereby reducing risk of power failure in the future which could more seriously affect service delivery'.
