3,680 people have already signed a petition asking health bosses to urgently reconsider a decision to cut £1.4 million from the Mountbatten Isle of Wight hospice charity’s budget in 2026/7.
The Change.org petition has quickly gathered pace and you are invited to add your signature to the document.
No meaningful consultation
Hampshire-based financial decision-makers will also cut £600,000 from Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s finances this autumn, without prior warning or meaningful consultation.
Combined, the cuts by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) represent a disinvestment in Mountbatten Isle of Wight of around 40 per cent.
‘Reallocated’ to other hospices on the Mainland
Instead, the money is being ‘reallocated’ and hospices in Hampshire (not Mountbatten Hampshire) are among those being awarded a rise in funding.
For over a decade, Mountbatten Isle of Wight has received around a third of its money from the ICB, which distributes NHS funding to healthcare services on the Island. Two thirds of the charity’s work is funded by the community, through events, fundraising, donations, gifts-in-wills and charity shops.
Why fight for Mountbatten Isle of Wight?
The Isle of Wight’s only hospice serves an increasingly older population, delivering a unique and expert end-of-life care model, 24/7, to people in their own homes, in Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s inpatient unit, and in the John Cheverton Centre, through day, outpatient and rehabilitation services.
World-renowned for putting hospice care at the centre of its community, Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s model has been widely replicated across the UK.
Its building is essentially owned by Islanders
Its innovative approach means its building is essentially owned by Islanders, and it is open to a growing number of people. Seven days a week, this space, including the popular John Cheverton Centre in Newport’s Halberry Lane, is used for community events, concerts, a community choir, cafe and more.
Of the money Mountbatten needs to operate, NHS commissioners have, for around a decade, provided around a third of the funding. Donations, fundraising, retail and gifts-in-wills bring in two thirds of Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s annual £10.5 million running costs.
Mountbatten Isle of Wight is asking people on the Isle of Wight to take action to save our hospice as we know it, by writing to NHS commissioners, Healthwatch and our MPS.
Here’s how
Tell your Mountbatten Isle of Wight story to:
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board
Write to: Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB Board, Omega House, 112 Southampton Road, Eastleigh, SO50 5PB
Email: [email protected]
Healthwatch Isle of Wight
Write to: Freepost RTGR-BKRU-KUEL, Healthwatch Isle of Wight, The Riverside Centre, The Quay, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 2QR
Email: [email protected]
Richard Quigley, MP for Isle of Wight West
Email:[email protected]
Joe Robertson – MP for Isle of Wight East
Email: [email protected]
News shared by Lucy on behalf of Mountbatten. Ed
