The suggestion from Councillor Karl Love that Floating Bridge users be subjected to a 50p surcharge to fund travel to the mainland for some patients attending NHS appointments has been firmly rejected by Isle of Wight Council Leader, Councillor Dave Stewart.
The suggestion, made by East Cowes’ Cllr Love at a meeting of Town and Parish Councillors with the Isle of Wight Council last Monday (10th December), has been rebuffed by Cllr Stewart in an email sent this week in which he says:
“First, we instinctively don’t feel that it would be right to impose upon the residents of East Cowes the burden of funding a service that is of benefit to residents all around the Island.
Article continues below this advertisement “Secondly, we are currently awaiting the results of the public consultation on this issue, prior to making a final decision, but I can tell you that we fully appreciate how important assistance with travel costs is for some very needy patients and we are currently actively looking at other ways of continuing that funding from other sources general revenues rather than by imposing a levy, as you proposed, on floating bridge users”.
Currently, the Isle of Wight Council contributes £60,000 each year to the NHS to help with the travel costs of some cancer and dialysis patients who need to travel to the mainland for treatment. But, Cllr Stewart argues, that funding should really come from NHS budgets, as it does in other areas of the country, not from the Council, adding:
“Thirdly, it is clear that it really should be for the NHS to meet these costs, rather than the Isle of Wight Council, and we will be pressing the NHS to live up to its responsibilities in future as a condition of the Council continuing the funding for another year, if we were to decide to continue that funding”.
The final decision on whether to continue funding patient travel will be made in the New Year.
