The announcement of a mainland surgery hub that aims to cut some surgery waiting times for Isle of Wight patients has been met with mixed reactions.
If approved by NHS England, it would be built in Winchester, for Hampshire and the Island’s urology, orthopaedic and ear, nose and throat patients.
Interim Isle of Wight NHS Trust chief executive, Darren Cattell, has told a meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s health and social care scrutiny committee he is anxious and worried about patients waiting too long for non-urgent surgery.
Although St Mary’s Hospital in Newport has already increased its surgical capacity, NHS England told the committee a hub is ‘best practice’ to clear the backlog, after COVID-19.
Likely to open by mid-2024, it has been criticised by Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet member for adult social care, Councillor Karl Love.
Isle of Wight patients have previously turned down mainland treatment, offered by the NHS but under a private scheme, due to travel.
Calling the proposed location ‘terrible’, Cllr Love said increasing the number of operations would bring adult social care to a standstill, due to creating extra pressures on an already stretched sector. He said it would address one problem but cause another, however Mr Cattell said not operating meant patients’ health would deteriorate further, piling different pressure on adult social care.
Mr Cattell said although Islanders might like to see the hub closer, Winchester is the NHS’s preferred location.
Michaela Dyer, managing director of the Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group said, on Monday, the idea is about making sure capacity can be expanded overall, giving patients a choice about where to have their operation.
Mr Cattell said the hub would be designed for high volume, low complexity, fast turnaround surgery.
A survey by Healthwatch is seeking residents’ opinions.
What is ‘terrible’ Councillor is you suggesting people in acute pain shouldn’t have operations because of social care deficiency. Don’t solve one problem by creating another.
The NHS should be fully funding ferry travel for all travelling to Winchester. Get the MP to have a word with his Tory confidants.
Dig a tunnel and people will not complain about this so much, it is the Ferries that cause all our problems… They have the Island locked down in CURFEW… cannot get on or off this Island as a passenger, to Ryde, aver 20:20…. and do not forget, we all become prisoners here on Christmas day !! If there was a tunnel, people could easily pop over to mainland anytime and any day….not restricted to booking and hoping ferry not cancelled..
So an emergency ENT appointment in WINCHESTER, from Island, would take a fair amount of booking up and if the boat is late….bye bye appointment…. but the trip would not be free….
Give it a rest incredible – your endless spamming about a tunnel that is never ever going to happen is getting boring.
there is no real support for it – that freedom tunnel effort to raise a £100k for a study, after four years had barely even reached £10k – think about it – no one wants it and none of the mainland counties want an exit/entrance ramp to a tunnel in their backyard.
There is support for a tunnel, its defianately needed
First learn to spell before putting up such a lame argument.
Tunnel is the way forward
A tunnel will bring more people here, push up house prices to astronomical levels pushing youngsters off the island meaning more elderly people and more pressure on our NHS then now resulting in more trips to even further hospital’s for treatment
What is incredible is that you haven’t checked your facts as the much maligned Red Funnel do actually run a reduced service on Christmas Day.
At a ridiculously high price
q all the ‘If you don’t like it move’ comments. The 21st century is waiting, but the nimbys don’t want it, rather live in the 18th century, so we all have to suffer as they shout the loudest.
What amazes me is everyone like you who goes on about a tunnel are all piss and wind. Stop using words against others and all of you act instead. Put your houses up for sale, sell all your assets and fund your wild ambitions for a tunnel. No…. didn’t think so as you haven’t got the balls and know it’s never going to happen.
Wightlink run Christmas day to. Are you one of those who moved here in the pandemic and now what the island run to suit only you? Don’t like it then move off.
Winchester? Not the easiest place to get to on public transport or the quickest. Preumably if you are sent there by the Isle of Wight Health Trust, your travel costs will be covered by them.
What is it about NHS England that they are failing to understand that most residents do not want to travel to Winchester for minor operations. Invest that money into our failing Hospital on the Island and give the mainlanders the option to travel here instead. It is still a two year wait to get it built and that is if it is built on time so in reality it could be a three year wait.
The problem is that the people needed to run it, surgeons, theatre staff, you name it, do NOT want to move here. Why? Because the schools are crap fir their own children , there’s awful services for just about everything. They just couldn’t staff it. It’s hard enough getting staff for St Mary’s. So, the problem isn’t what people think. Certainly a fixed link would improve matters in getting the right people to come. There is a big shortage of highly trained health care and consultants here, you have to ask why that is. The isolation because of transport issues is a big part of that.
I agree with everything you have said. As a regular visitor to Southampton General for cancer treatment, I have never heard any nurse or medic express any desire to work at St Mary’s, in fact they see it as a backward step in their career.
Seeing as the council don’t see the islands only hospital as a viable option for minor ops, maybe they should consider burning it down like the derelict Gaiety arcade in Ventnor, and threaten like they did to the police and fire service, “investigate this and we will cut your funding”, yes folks it’s true. That may be extreme for the hospital but it shows the arrogant “Putin-esque” council we have over here.
Big statement there Sir Digby, any proof of the council threat? if so bring it to the table.
Common knowledge in town, leaked from the top. Ask around. Maybe The Echo can ask for a statement from the council and all involved. This won’t go away.
Wish you would go away.
Travelling to access operations is not pleasant or easy. I had a series of eye operations at Southampton as St Marys’ didn’t do at the time. I was grateful to get it done – I would have gone blind in one eye.After the op I was given tea and toast and sent home. I felt pretty rough each time. I was advised to get a taxi as bouncing about on a bus was not a good idea. I was told I had to have someone accompany me (yes another Red Jet fare) as I had had an op. I then had to walk from the Jet to the parked car to be driven home, horrible when you are feeling under the weather. Medical appointments on the mainland are expensive and unpleasant!
‘Built’ in Winchester, so another 5 years yet then!
Why waste money building something for in 2 years time and forcing patients off the island, spend the money on the island by supplying doctors and do the surgeries here, much quicker and cheaper for everyone
Won’t affect me, not my problem
As somebody that has had to tavel on a regular basis to the mainland I can tell you I often had a day trip of 8 plus hours( the longest was 11.5 hours) just to receive an injection that took 2 minutes. And assuming most people can get their travel expenses back they’d be better off putting that cash into a clinic here on the island. When you feel ill, any journey is bad news and pretty depressing
Crazy , ridiculous idea
I have every sympathy for you having had to go to Southampton for radiotherapy. Should have that facility at St Marys
Once again, the push seems to be to provide more buildings than to actually provide the staff needed to give the treatment! Very odd. I wonder who owns the building firms?