Airport Offers ‘Perfect Space’ For Patient Quiet Room

After months of turbulence, there’s some good news for Manx patients travelling through Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The much-loved and needed Quiet Room, a safe space for islanders heading to the UK for treatment, has been granted a new lease of life.

Back in the summer, it looked like curtains for the facility when the airport announced it was closing the room at the end of December to make space for more shops.

The decision sparked outrage on the Isle of Man, with locals fearing patients would be left without a peaceful place to recharge during long days of travel.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport later said it was ‘committed’ to providing a quiet room for Manx patients receiving treatment in UK hospitals.

Manx Care has now revealed that the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group recently met with Liverpool John Lennon Airport CEO, John Irving, to discuss plans for a new Patient Quiet Room at the site.

Following discussions, the charity says the airport has now offered up a space for a new quiet room that is ‘perfect’ for patients’ needs.

A spokesperson for Manx Care said: ‘This room will be a temporary measure until the permanent room is ready in late Spring 2025.

‘The Liverpool Airport team has assured us that the transition to the temporary room will be immediate and at no time will patients be without the facility.’

The temporary room will be located opposite Boots and W.H Smith and next door to the Liverpool shop once passengers make their way past the security check point.

‘We have been advised that it will be well signposted with the Patient Transfer lounge logo,’ a spokesperson for Manx Care added.

‘We expect the permanent Patient Quiet Room to open in late May 2025, and this will be adjacent to the new Aspire Lounge (in the same area as the original Quiet Lounge).

‘New toilets are to be built next door to the new Quiet Room.’

In a joint statement, Julie Stokes, Chair of the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group, and Carole Male, Vice President of the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group, said: ‘We would like to thank John Irving and the team at Liverpool John Lennon Airport for their help with this.

‘We would also like to thank Manx Care for their support.

‘The Patient Quiet Room is massively important to patients travelling to the UK for treatment and is a haven for all patients needing peace and quiet during what can be an extremely long day.’

The Manx Breast Cancer Support Group will fund all furnishings for the permanent room when it is completed, Manx Care has confirmed.