News OnTheWight has discovered that an independent review of community and mental health services across the Isle of Wight and Hampshire has been carried out.
One of the recommendations of the review is:
Whether a new organisation should be created for all community and mental health services across Hampshire and Isle of Wight to reduce variation for patients, overcome fragmentation across services and establish consistency of care.
Public consultation
Now the review has been carried out, the next stage is to discuss the review’s recommendations with those involved: working in those services, patients, service users and local communities.
Currently a number organisations provide these services, including the Solent NHS Trust and Southern Health Foundation Trust.
By way of example, Solent NHS Trust deliver a range of services on the Isle of Wight, including 0-19yrs services, mental health, special care dental and sexual health, whilst Southern Health Foundation Trust deliver health services across Hampshire.
MacIsaac: We will now test the findings from the review
News OnTheWight asked the Department for Health, NHS England and Solent NHS and Southern Health Foundation Trusts whether a merger was being considered.
In response, Maggie MacIsaac, Chief Executive Designate of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Board, told News OnTheWight,
“A key priority for the NHS in Hampshire and Isle of Wight is ensuring that communities have equal access to services and experience the same outcomes.
“The aim of the independent review of community and mental health services was to understand how to better meet the demands of the future and how organisations might work better together to meet those demands.
“The review includes recommendations for the future. We will now test the findings from the review, working with staff from all organisations delivering community and mental health services, patients and service users and local communities to consider how best to take forward the recommendations.”
Updates to follow
At present it’s unclear this will affect Isle of Wight patients, or whether it will result in any job losses at any of the Trusts.
Be assured that News OnTheWight will continue to seek clear and concise information on this, which we’ll update you on once we have it.
What are Community Health Services?
According to the NHS England, “Shifting more care out of hospital and into the community is one of the improvements outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan and will help ensure we meet the changing health needs of the country over the coming decade.”
Community health services include (this list is not exhaustive and some are provided by NHS Trust/CCG):
- Two hour rapid crisis response services
- District nursing
- Child health services
- Community occupational therapy
- Community paediatric clinics
- Community end of life and palliative care
- Community physiotherapy
- Musculoskeletal therapy
- Pulmonary or cardiac rehabilitation
- Community podiatry
- Community speech and language therapy
- Falls prevention services
- Intermediate care services
- Specialist nurses (for example, diabetes, COPD, heart failure, incontinence, tissue viability)
- Bed-based community rehabilitation
- Wheelchair services
- Health visiting
- School health services
- Sexual health services
Isle of Wight Mental Health Services
Back in 2020 a large Isle of Wight NHS Trust review was carried out into Mental Health and Disability Services here on the Isle of Wight.
In October 2020, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust revealed its then new strategy for its Mental Health and Disability Services.
Image: Nicolas J Leclercq under CC BY 2.0
