OPERATIONS and appointments could be cancelled on Monday at the Isle of Wight's only hospital as Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II's funeral takes place.

The day of mourning has been made a Bank Holiday — with numerous shops shutting — to allow the public to observe the ceremony, although it is up to employers to decide whether staff will be given the day off.

News outlet, openDemocracy reported some NHS trusts have announced all non-urgent procedures and clinical appointments would be postponed, including hip and knee replacements, cataract surgeries, maternity checks and some cancer treatments.

NHS England told openDemocracy the decision to postpone appointments was to be made by NHS trusts locally.

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The Isle of Wight NHS Trust, based at St Mary's Hospital in Newport, has said it is still trying to work through its plans for Monday.

A spokesperson said if any patients are affected, they will be contacted directly.

It has also been announced by NHS England, GP surgeries can close on the day of the funeral but suitable out-of-hours treatment must be accessible.

The Island's health service is still in the process of recovering from the surgical backlog caused by the Covid pandemic.

It is also dealing with congestion in the hospital, which sees on average two wards full of patients who could be discharged but have no care in place should they leave.

With beds full of patients, there are difficulties and long waits to admit patients through the emergency department or for their much-needed surgical procedures.

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The lack of beds at the hospital has, previously, caused the elective surgery programme at St Mary's to stop, which delays more procedures.

The Queen died last Thursday, September 8, at the age of 96 years old at her Balmoral estate. Earlier in the day, Buckingham Palace had announced Her Majesty was under medical observation.