NHS FUNDING GAP COULD LEAD TO SERVICE CUTS WARNS MOUNTBATTEN CEO

Mountbatten CEO Nigel Hartley has said that the charity may have to “cut services in the next 18 months” due to a decline in NHS funding. The charity, which runs hospices on the Isle of Wight and in Southampton and is the largest provider of hospice care in Hampshire,  will launch a public consultation this autumn. Mountbatten, which also provides psychology and bereavement counselling and 24/7 specialist palliative care at home both on the Island and across large parts of Hampshire, will ask residents or the two counties what services are most important to them, and talk through the implications should any services need to stop. Mountbatten’s AGM, was held on Thursday, 25th July. Attendees heard the number of people being given specialist palliative care by Mountbatten has risen by 250% on the Isle of Wight in five years and, over the same period, by 90 per cent across Hampshire.  2/3 of Mountbatten’s funding comes from the community, which Nigel said is ‘alive and well’. A third comes via the NHS organisation responsible for planning health services – the Integrated Care Board for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (ICB). While Mountbatten’s costs have gone up by 8% – 10% in the last year, the NHS has uplifted its contribution by just 0.6 per cent. Concerned the organisation has lost sight of the people who desperately need care, Nigel accused the ICB of being too focussed on saving money. He warned of ‘catastrophic consequences’ if the increase in need for Mountbatten’s expert care and kindness is not addressed, and matched by a financial commitment from the NHS. Thanking fundraisers and supporters across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Nigel said he is proud of Mountbatten’s staff and volunteers, who are delivering high quality care during unprecedented times.

“They are working through times I’ve never seen to be so challenging, during the almost 40 years I have worked in hospice care,” he said.

Mountbatten’s Chair of Trustees, Sir Ian Cheshire, added:

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“We will fight over the NHS funding. We are not going to accept this. We are not going to sit back and wait for it.”

Nigel called on the new government to make ‘putting the health and social care system back together’ its absolute imperative. He warned ‘difficult decisions will be made’ in the coming months. New trustees were welcomed to the charity’s board, meanwhile. They included: Charlie Panayi, whose sister died after being diagnosed with skin cancer and whose family raised funds for Mountbatten; Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Kate Collins; Vicky Hastings, who has over 35 years of experience in investment management; and Dr Tim Peachey, who was deputy chair of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust. Also joining the board were diabetes specialist, Dr John Sichel and communications specialist, Alastair Gornall. Nigel urged the new trustees to ‘think through their responsibilities’ when it comes to supporting the charity, telling them ‘it is critical you do so’ and he thanked those who left the board for their service. There was praise, too, for Mountbatten’s ‘extraordinary’ fundraising team. Its members are working tirelessly to raise much-needed funds to fill the gap, including through Walk the Wight 2024, which Nigel described as ’a phenomenon’. The AGM heard testimonials from 2 people whose loved-ones were cared for by Mountbatten. ‘Reliability’, middle of the night visits, ‘supportive and friendly staff’ and ‘incredible’ expertise were all praised.