Patients with age-related macular degeneration will continue to be treated at Noble’s Hospital for the next year.

Specialists from Aintree Hospital have visited the Island on a fortnightly basis since 2015 to provide consultant-led macular treatment.

They work alongside Noble’s ophthalmology team.  

While some procedures were carried out here patients with more complex conditions travelled to Merseyside for treatment.  

The Isle of Man Eye Care Strategy, agreed in early 2018, included plans for an in-house macular service, to provide more extensive on-Island care and reduce numbers having to travel. 

In April this year the search began for a new provider of ARMD services through a formal tender process.

Unfortunately none of the tenders received provided a suitable high quality alternative, and as a result Aintree has agreed to continue providing the service for a further 12 months, at least, from the start of November.

Health and Social Care Minister David Ashford says: "The Aintree and Noble’s teams will be working together over the coming weeks to try to expand the capacity of the ARMD service on Island.

"This is so that more patients can be cared for at Noble’s and fewer trips to Liverpool are required – which has been our aim from the start.

"We’d hoped to find a specialist provider who could offer the service as a ‘package’ for us, but it’s proved more difficult than expected."