Mountbatten Hails 'Positive Step' For Isle Of Wight Funding

Today (Thursday 24 July) at the Mountbatten Group’s AGM, it was announced the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) will not withdraw £527,000

from Mountbatten Isle of Wight this Autumn. 

The decision follows constructive conversations, in recent weeks. 

Mountbatten Isle of Wight welcomed this positive step, which will safeguard vital and

expert community services and 24/7 end-of-life care, for the time being. 

The next six months will be a period of transition.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB and Mountbatten will continue to work together, to negotiate the new Isle of Wight contract and funding for services beyond April 2026.  

A disinvestment of £1.4 million from Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s budget has been proposed by the ICB for the 2026/7 financial year.

This will be central to the ongoing conversations about the services they will fund, going forwards.

Mountbatten CEO, Nigel Hartley, MBE, thanked staff and volunteers for their continued efforts and praised Islanders for their huge support in writing letters to the ICB, MPs and Healthwatch, as well as signing a petition. 

Earlier this week, the Mountbatten was told it would receive around £996,000 from the government, in phase two of an allocation of emergency cash for the hospice sector.

It will be split between Mountbatten Isle of Wight and Mountbatten Hampshire and can only spent on building refurbishment projects and equipment — not day-to-day running costs. This means it cannot be used to offset any proposed ICB funding cuts. 

Up to a third of the money Mountbatten currently needs to operate comes from the NHS, while at least two-thirds is from the public, through fundraising, donations, gifts in wills, grants and via our network of charity shops.