Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely says he is pleased to see the additional costs of running small hospitals, such as St Mary’s, recognised by the government in its funding formula.
He revealed during a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday morning (6 September) that the Island had received over £5 million in additional funding as a result of a new formula introduced by government to calculate the additional costs borne by unavoidably small hospitals (USHs).
St Mary’s is recognised by government as one of twelve USHs in England and Wales which are defined as being unavoidably smaller than district general hospitals due to location, population served and distance from alternative hospitals.
During his opening speech leading the debate, Mr Seely said he was grateful to the government for the additional £48 million capital investment in Island healthcare services, and for the uplift of £5.3 million as a result of the new funding formula for unavoidably small hospitals. However, he went on to say that the Island still needed more.
He said: “Whilst I am grateful for the additional funding and delighted that the previous Conservative government has recognised the additional costs - and indeed given us nearly £50 million of additional capital expenditure on the Isle of Wight - the research assessed by my own Trust assesses that the funds given are roughly half of what is needed.”
He said the Isle of Wight NHS Trust estimated in January 2019 - through its Sustainability Plan – that it would need to spend an additional £10-12 million in order to provide a similar standard of healthcare to that enjoyed by mainland residents.
Speaking after the debate Mr Seely said: “As a result of a campaign effort by myself and other MPs that have smaller hospitals, we’ve secured millions to ease pressures. However, there is always more to do and I will be leading a meeting for MPs from all political parties to meet with new ministers to press for better funding for the dozen unavoidably small hospitals in England and Wales.
“Government now has a formula which recognises the additional costs faced by smaller hospitals like St Mary’s which is fantastic. What we need now is to ensure that money continues to come to the Island via the new Integrated Care Board.
“While this new funding is already making a difference, it doesn’t address all the additional costs we face on the Island, so I have asked the minister to explain to me exactly how this formula works and how the money is calculated so that we can work out whether it’s working for the Island.”
Health minister, Maria Caulfield, who was present during the debate, said she would be happy to provide more details about the funding formula to Mr Seely and others.
