Isle of Wight cancer patients who need treatment in Portsmouth were dealt another blow this week, when it was revealed that the Isle of Wight CCG will no longer fund the minibus service to the hospital.
The Daisy Bus service, that takes Isle of Wight cancer patients from the Hovertravel terminal in Southsea to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth for treatment, will be axed from next week due to the cut in funding.
In talks for over a year
A spokesperson for the Wessex Cancer Trust told OnTheWight,
“Our Portsmouth minibus service will come to an end on Friday 10 November after over a year of discussions with NHS partners and grant givers to seek funding to run the bus.
“The minibus service was initially set up with a grant from NHS commissioners on the Island. We have been told that the NHS can no longer fund patient transport services.
“Therefore, despite extensive fundraising efforts and generous donations, it is with great sadness that we now have to tell our passengers and our fantastic, dedicated drivers that the service cannot be sustained.”
Southampton service continues
They went on to say,
“We are proud to say we provided thousands of journeys to help people from the Isle of Wight get to their hospital appointments in Portsmouth, and we know patients really valued the support it gave them.
“We would like to reassure Islanders coming to Southampton for treatment that we have been able to sustain that minibus service through alternative funding and help from Southampton Hospital.”
MP must get involved now
Steve Butler, spokesperson for Isle of Wight Trades Union Council, told OnTheWight
“The IOWTUC, demands that Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, gets involved in this now to save this free bus service.
“Is this a example of how it is going to be for Islanders under the proposed STP and loss of any services to Isle of Wight NHS and having to go to the mainland for treatment etc?”
CCG: “Regrettable Wessex Cancer Trust no longer able to run service”
Caroline Morris, assistant director of commissioning for NHS Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said,
“It is very regrettable that Wessex Cancer Trust has announced that it is no longer able to run this minibus service for patients, because many people have valued the help it has given them in recent years.
“More than four years ago our predecessor organisation (the Isle of Wight Primary Care Trust) gave the charity a one-off grant to get the minibus service up and running. It is a real shame that the charity, despite its best efforts, has not been able to keep it going. NHS commissioning organisations such as ours are not entitled to give charities ongoing funding to run transport services, but it is important to note that people who are clinically assessed as being medically unable to travel independently to appointments may be able to use the NHS Patient Transport Service.
“We are very aware that the issue of transport is hugely important for people on the Island, and finding solutions to the off island transport problem is a central element of our thinking as we consider how the NHS needs to change in the future. The CCG is committed to working with partner organisations to find a way of managing this not just for people with cancer but for all people who need to travel to the mainland for services.”
Article edit
4.27pm Five hours after publishing and the CCG provided a comment.
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