The Isle of Wight NHS Trust announced a merger with Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust this afternoon (Tuesday), with the two trusts sharing a Chief Executive, Executive team, and clinical leadership team.
The newly announced partnership will bring the two neighbouring organisations closer together, allowing them to better respond to the NHS’s challenges and the changing needs of the people they serve. This will build on the Acute Services Partnership, which was established in 2020.
All partners have high hopes for the Isle of Wight and want to ensure that Islanders and visitors alike receive the best possible care and health outcomes. Operating many fragile services, as the Trust currently does, jeopardises this goal.
Melloney Poole, Chairman of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, stated that:
“Our 2 organisations are taking the next step in our Acute Services Partnership which will bring teams from both Trusts more closely together, while remaining two separate, statutory organisations.
“Working together and in collaboration with our partners is the only viable way to ensure safe, sustainable, and compassionate services for the Isle of Wight.
“We will continue to listen to our communities’ voices and needs, and we will ensure that they are involved in the development of our services and the care they receive.”
By establishing shared clinical leadership and forming a single leadership team, we will be able to better plan and deliver services for a combined population of 800,000 people across Portsmouth, southeast Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board Chief Executive Maggie MacIsaac stated:
“To ensure the sustainability of all healthcare services on the island we are working together across organisations and geographies. For many years, this ethos of collaboration has served as our guiding principle. Bringing the Isle of Wight Trust and the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust closer together strengthens our collaboration, prioritises quality of care, and keeps the patient at the centre of our plans.”
The Trusts will collaborate to engage patients, stakeholders, and members of the public in all communities served.
Islanders will be mindful of recent opportunities for local services to merge with those on the mainland, such as the fire service and %%UKNIP_ANCHOR_0%%.
For the time being, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust will retain its current %%UKNIP_ANCHOR_1%%.
Island MP Bob Seely responded to the news by saying:
“I spoke with Darren Cattell earlier and am pleased with the news.
“We’re making reforms to the NHS to ensure that it can deliver the healthcare services the Island, and the country, needs. Above all, this means ensuring the sustainability of NHS services on the Island so that as many people as possible can receive high-quality NHS care on the Isle of Wight. To that end, we passed new legislation last year to make this possible.
The development of a more integrated approach to healthcare is critical for both patients and NHS staff. We’ll see a more integrated approach, with adult social services, the NHS, GPs, and pharmacies collaborating closely on the Island and nationally.
“Today’s announcement paves the way for additional reforms later this year. The IW NHS and Portsmouth already have a partnership agreement in place to ensure that clinical services on the Island are supported.”
