Funding for patients travelling to the mainland for medical treatment could be cut as the Isle of Wight Council issues a dire warning about its finances.
In previous years, the authority has given £60,000 a year to the Isle of Wight NHS Trust to help fund the travel scheme for cancer patients. The scheme has been running for 16 years, providing reimbursement of ferry costs, but the cabinet member for adult social care has issued a severe warning it could be axed.
Speaking at the Isle of Wight Council’s health and social care scrutiny committee Monday, Councillor Karl Love said the council had been happy to support the scheme previously but looking forward, the cost pressures to adult social care were so significant that the scheme is under consideration of being cut.
He said:
“It may only be in the region of £60,000 but it is against a budget deficit of millions and we are facing real issues about that.”
Cllr Love said he knew as soon as the scheme came under consideration there would be a significant wave of feeling from people using it but the council needed to be clear it was at risk.
The council, he said, gives the funding voluntarily but was mindful of the knock-on effect it would have on the NHS down the line it if was withdrawn.
A patient transport task force has been launched, created to address the issues facing those who have to travel to the mainland for treatment. The task force is set to meet later this week after winter pressures saw the first meeting cancelled.
Councillor Vanessa Churchman said it was “all very well everything being centralised but it totally ignores the enormous amount of travelling everyone has to do.”
The Isle of Wight Council also runs a scheme where those parking in specific car parks in Ryde and Yarmouth, who are travelling for medical treatment, can claim the cost back.
The authority has recently warned of the pressures it will face setting a budget next year and the need to fill a £22million blackhole.
But 140k for Wendy can be found no problem.
Damn disgrace!!! We have one flaming hospital that seems not to be able to cater for the needs of the island. For goodness sake bring it up to scratch or pay up to take patients to another hospital that can cope (it’s not the patients fault they are ill). The state of this hospital makes my blood curdle sort it out please.
IWC Stop funding the waste of money FB6 and fund this essential service for patients who need treatment, the cottage hospital here cannot provide .. shame on the council .. ask yourself .. if it was me ..
Cut your own salary then you don’t need all that money, you certainly don’t deserve it, think of other people instead of yourselves.
but you can find a million a year for SEND kids to have taxis to school though can’t you Karl,
and you manage to spend a million a year on three people in adult social care don’t you Karl
how about you cut these overly generous expenses, make the parents of those kids pay and keep the reimbursement to those that are practically dying, Karl
You would think the ferry operators would let them travel free.
I wouldn’t. They could, but they won’t.
why – the ferry operators have to pay staff wages and other costs – if they let people travel for free then where does the money come from to pay the staff – the ferries will cease to exist and then you will be marooned here.
I agree wholeheartedly with your comment Trooper, Three or four people travelling to the mainland for life giving cancer treatment aren’t going on a jolly. A scheduled sailing is going across anyway so three or four seats (that are probably empty anyway) could easily be used in a charitable way at no cost to anyone.
Red Funnel offer 50% discount for ALL hospital appointments , just email proof of appointment for discount code.
Stop buying expensive social care placements on the mainland and the money for cancer patient travel can be ringfenced.
The NHS should either pay for the travel or bring the Island’s facilities up to a much higher level. I don’t believe the travel costs are a Council responsibility but I do think the Council should be responsible for ensuring the Island’s population get healthcare to at least the same standard as the mainland. The Council should be screaming from the rooftops about the lack of Dental and GP Surgery availability.
The NHS should pay. I am sure if they lose few diversity managers they will not notice the cost.
Council of secrets, only concern is wages, pensions, hush hush on the floating bottomless bucket. With endless money for the professional scroungers.
I’m sure Mr Love, wasting money. Could spend the entire island budget on his own. With no concerns about value for money. Cancer and seriously ill people are being let down.
Many criticised the Tories, but Alliance only interested in the minority.
I will say again electric car’s-Computer system – air con ….
New heating system on the card’s?????
New led lighting on the card’s???
Cancer patients pay full fare !!!!
Totally unfair no one asks to get cancer, it’s no one’s fault our 1 hospital doesn’t deal with a lot of treatments, ….
Oh and we will have to pay for 2 MPs for our iddy biddy island ….WHY do we need 2 dipsticks ???
If they get a TUNNEL built, it will save millions…..
This is an utter DISGRACE. This bloody Council can find money for constant ‘repairs’ to that heap of sh*te they call the Floating Bridge. God only knows how much money, our Council Tax payments have been wasted over the years on it?
Between the Council and the travel operators, surely something can be worked out?
So many cancer patients who can no longer work due to their illness now have to find the extra money for the ferry travel to get the treatments they need DISGUSTING sums up the council
So they will happily cut this vital and humanitarian service but keep throwing money away on the floating bridge and other pointless projects whilst awarding themselves pay rises every year and paying ever increasing police precepts for a service we do not recieve.
Just a thought with all the services you the motley crew have cut surely you don’t need so many staff in the council offices, so how many can you get rid of ??????
Or is it like how many people to change a light bulb …???????
Absolutely disgusting. I noticed the hospital and our ever useless MP is very quiet on this subject.
Well they could have saved thousands on the Belgrave Road scheme by reducing the height of the new wall. And also the very expensive fencing along the road past the Botanical Gardens.
Sack the new CEO. That’d save over £100,000