Island Health Services Face Continued Pressure, Healthwatch Report Finds

Healthwatch Isle of Wight says long waits at A&E, pressure at St Mary’s Hospital and delays with GP referrals are among the key concerns raised by Islanders.

The watchdog gathered feedback from 170 people between July 13 and August 12, with 63 per cent of responses negative, 34 per cent positive and three per cent mixed or neutral.

GP and A&E services were the two main areas of concern, with at least 30 negative responses about each.

Some of the feedback highlighted lengthy waits at St Mary’s.

One resident said she was referred to A&E by her GP and waited two hours before being told she would be admitted.

She then spent another 24 hours sitting on a chair before reaching a ward, where she waited more than an hour for a bed.

Another person reported repeated problems getting prescriptions from their GP to a pharmacy, saying their relative had to spend hours on the phone trying to resolve the issue.

A cancer patient described the support they had received from their GP surgery as "pitiful".

However, there was also positive feedback, including from one patient who said they were able to get a phone appointment quickly and easily with The Bay GP practice using an online system.

There was also praise for staff working in A&E.

Healthwatch found largely positive feedback about residential and nursing care homes, urgent care and dentistry.

James Roach, Director for Neighbourhood Health at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said the feedback was valuable in helping services understand what matters to Islanders and where improvements are needed.

He said progress had been made in extending GP and community pharmacy access, with an ambitious Neighbourhood Health Plan also being developed for the Isle of Wight.

The Isle of Wight NHS Trust said it was sorry some patients were experiencing longer waits in the Emergency Department due to difficulties with patient flow.

A spokesperson said:

"Like many hospitals across the country, we have a high number of patients who are medically fit to leave hospital but are awaiting their next place of care or package of support.

"This can affect our ability to admit patients from the Emergency Department quickly."

The Trust said it was working with community, social care and mental health partners to improve patient flow and develop new pathways to ensure people receive the right care in the right setting.