Petition Launched To Help Save Hospice Funding On The Isle of Wight

Over 1,700 people have already signed a petition asking health bosses to urgently reconsider a decision to cut £1.4 million from the Mountbatten Isle of Wight hospice charity’s budget in 2026/7.

The Change.org petition has quickly gathered pace and Islanders are invited to add their signature to the document.

CLICK HERE to sign: https://www.change.org/p/stop-nhs-cash-cuts-to-mountbatten-isle-of-wight

Hampshire-based financial decision-makers will also cut £600,000 from Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s finances this autumn, without prior warning or meaningful consultation.

Combined, the cuts by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) represent a disinvestment in Mountbatten Isle of Wight of around 40 per cent. 

Instead, the money is being ‘reallocated’ and hospices in Hampshire (not Mountbatten Hampshire) are among those being awarded a rise in funding.

For over a decade, Mountbatten Isle of Wight has received around a third of its money from the ICB, which distributes NHS funding to healthcare services on the Island. Two thirds of the charity’s work is funded by the community, through events, fundraising, donations, gifts-in-wills and charity shops.

Why fight for Mountbatten Isle of Wight?

The Isle of Wight's only hospice serves an increasingly older population, delivering a unique and expert end-of-life care model, 24/7, to people in their own homes, in Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s inpatient unit, and in the John Cheverton Centre, through day, outpatient and rehabilitation services.

World-renowned for putting hospice care at the centre of its community, Mountbatten Isle of Wight's model has been widely replicated across the UK.

Its innovative approach means its building is essentially owned by Islanders, and it is open to a growing number of people. Seven days a week, this space, including the popular John Cheverton Centre in Newport’s Halberry Lane, is used for community events, concerts, a community choir, cafe and more.

Of the money Mountbatten needs to operate, NHS commissioners have, for around a decade, provided around a third of the funding. Donations, fundraising, retail and gifts-in-wills bring in two thirds of Mountbatten Isle of Wight’s annual £10.5 million running costs.

Mountbatten Isle of Wight is asking people on the Isle of Wight to take action to save the Island's hospice as we know it, by writing to NHS commissioners, Healthwatch and our MPS. 

Here’s how:

Tell your Mountbatten Isle of Wight story to:

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board

Write to: Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB Board, Omega House, 112 Southampton Road, Eastleigh, SO50 5PBEmail: hiowicb-hsi.communications@nhs.net

Healthwatch Isle of Wight

Write to: Freepost RTGR-BKRU-KUEL, Healthwatch Isle of Wight, The Riverside Centre, The Quay, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 2QR Email: enquiries@healthwatchisleofwight.co.uk

Sign the petition at: change.org/p/stop-nhs-cash-cuts-to-mountbatten-isle-of-wight