In January 2018 the CCG proposed that Isle of Wight patients needing high risk and complex emergency and elective surgery should in future be treated in Portsmouth and Southampton. Some outpatient appointments could be conducted remotely. The Trust has established an emergency care hub at the hospital where social workers have joined ambulance crews, mental health teams and district nurses are based together. A helipad was installed in May 2013 to permit rapid transfer to specialist care on the mainland when necessary. The social work service established in the A&E department has been held out as an example to follow, because it has significantly reduced the number of hospital admissions. It is using the South Central Ambulance Service's computer system for ambulance dispatches to improve the performance of the ambulance service on the island. The trust was one of the beneficiaries of Boris Johnson's announcement of capital funding for the NHS in August 2019, with an allocation of £48 million for redesign of acute services.
Performance
It ended 2015/6 in deficit of £8.4 million. In April 2017 it was put into special measures after a Care Quality Commission inspection rated it inadequate, finding "unsafe" mental health services, widespread understaffing and a "subtle culture of bullying". Maggie Oldham, was appointed Chief Executive in May 2017, having performed the same role at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. It was put in special measures in 2017. It recorded 277 serious incidents in 2018 and 2019, compared to 143 in the previous two years. 22% were delays in treatment. This was after a new executive team in 2018 encouraged staff to report all incidents. In December 2019 it was the fourth worst performing trust in England against the 4 hour A&E target, with only 48% of patients seen within 4 hours, and had the longest waits for emergency ambulances.
Mental health
The Sevenacres mental health unit was criticised by CQC inspectors in November 2013 because patients were unclear about their care plans and were not always involved in decisions about their care or treatment. In November 2014 the Trust established a ‘strategic estates partnership’ with Ryhurst Ltd, a property management company in a deal which could be worth up to £25m. It is planned to rationalise the existing 21 sites over which the Trust operates and have some community care hubs.
