By Carole Dennett
The highly-regarded Lighthouse Clinic in Crocker Street, Newport, is currently unable to make new appointments or further bookings for previously-referred patients experiencing skin problems.
The clinic is the only provider of consultant-led dermatology services on the Island and the provider of the majority of NHS dermatology treatment since 2016. It also offers private treatments.
The most recent inspection of the service was carried out by the Care Quality Commission in March 2018, when it received a glowing report. It was also revealed to have one of the best waiting times in the region for providing diagnosis and treatment for skin conditions, including skin cancers, with ‘overwhelmingly positive’ feedback from patients.
In 2022 the service won the prestigious Dermatology Team of the Year category at the national Dermatology Awards. It’s website says that it sees almost 1,000 appointments a month with more than 140 biopsies taken.
The IW Observer has been contacted by a number of patients who say that clinic staff have been told that the majority of dermatology services are to be delivered by Portsmouth NHS in the future and they fear for their jobs, but have allegedly been “sworn to secrecy” about the situation.
The IW Observer contacted the Lighthouse Clinic for a statement but was told that all enquiries should be made to the NHS Trust communications team at St Mary’s Hospital. After contacting the IW NHS Trust we were told “This is one for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (H&IWICB)”, despite the trust’s website showing that the Lighthouse Clinic still delivers services for the organisation.
Sir Paul Kenny, who contacted the IW Observer on behalf of a number of patients said: “I am calling on the IW NHS Trust to come clean about the future of dermatology services on the Island.
“What on earth is going on? Are we going to lose the majority of our dermatology services to Portsmouth or not? Where is the public consultation?
“After all the widespread coverage of recent ferry service problems even the idea of moving yet more services to Portsmouth is beyond daft. It’s just shameful. Somebody needs to bang some heads together and knock some sense into them.
“It’s well known that the majority of board members don’t live here – perhaps they should try talking to those of us who do to find out what it is like.”
The IW Observer has asked the H&IWICB for a comment.
UPDATE: This afternoon the IW Observer received the following statement:
Natalie Borman, divisional director for Networked Services at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU), said: “We are delighted to confirm that PHU has signed a subcontract with Lighthouse Medical Ltd to continue the delivery of dermatology services on the Isle of Wight. We have been working closely with Lighthouse Medical Ltd to ensure the service will continue to operate from the same locations and by the same staff that have been caring for patients on the Isle of Wight since 2016.
“We apologise for any disruption that patients have faced during this transition and are contacting anyone we are aware of who may have been affected. We want to assure everyone that dermatology services are remaining on the Isle of Wight and GPs and patients will be able to book appointments in the same way as before. We are delighted by the partnership and are both looking forward to working together for the people of the Isle of Wight.”
So the answer appears to be that the Lighthouse Clinic will still be providing dermatology services from their current location, which is obviously good news. However, their contract is with Portsmouth NHS rather than the IW NHS Trust. We have asked when and why this change happened and what consultation has taken place about it.
