Ambitious three-year plan to improve health and care on the Isle of Wight unveiled

Supporting people to live healthy, independent lives is at the heart of an ambitious three-year plan to improve health and care on the Island.

The Isle of Wight Health and Care Plan, which is published today (5 September), is a shared vision between the NHS and the local authority to empower people to live more independently.

The focus of the plan is to help keep people out of hospital and avoid permanent admissions into care wherever possible.

To that end, more than £800,000 is to be invested in community services to support people in their own homes as part of their recovery after a stay in hospital.

This money will also be used to place district nurses and therapists into A&E so that they work alongside the social worker who has been based there for several months, and who has effectively diverted people away from an unnecessary admission into hospital.

Maggie Oldham, chief executive of Isle of Wight NHS Trust, said the investment was good news for Islanders.

She said: “It shows we are serious about bringing health and social care services more closely together, looking after people much more closer to home and helping them to live healthy, independent lives.”

The NHS Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Isle of Wight Council will continue to work together to invest in community services and transform the way services are provided.

“We have been working together for many years but in the last few months have taken a different approach and can already see the benefits as our services are improving," added Ms Oldham.

“We know there is more to do and we are totally committed to delivering the best possible services for our community.”

The Isle of Wight Health and Care Plan sets out priorities for the next three years and describes the changes people can expect to see.

It includes a pledge to increase the number of permanent clinical staff working within the NHS — while reducing reliance on expensive agency workers — and a commitment to keep off-Island travel for services to a minimum.

The document also sets out the vision for mental health services on the Island, which are being redesigned to provide support tailored to the needs of the individual.

Maggie MacIsaac, chief executive of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of CCGs, said the plan would not only improve health and care services, but make them more effective and efficient by making sure funds were spent in the right places to address the needs of the Island’s community.

She said: “We all have a common goal and aim — that’s to improve health and care for people — and we are committed to working both with organisations on and off the Island to draw on the benefits of bringing in as much care, knowledge and experience, as possible.

“Helping people stay out of hospital, by ensuring they have the right networks of care in place around them, is central to our vision, as this not only helps improve the quality of their overall experience but reduces our reliance on more costly, inpatient hospital care.”

The plan adds to the work of the Isle of Wight Council which has made significant improvements to children and adult social care services — the former ratified by Ofsted and the latter by the national accolades given to its Care Close to Home strategy.

John Metcalfe, chief executive, said: “This success means we are now able to look to work more closely with colleagues in the health sector, and ensure an individual’s health and care needs are met seamlessly without the need for them to be concerned about who is providing their services.

“We still have much to do, but this plan gives us a clear framework for how we can collectively develop these services for the benefit of our community.

“The council and the local NHS face significant financial challenges and it is only by planning and delivering health and care in truly integrated ways that will we simultaneously improve services and deliver value for money to the public purse.”