A HEALTH and social care hub has opened today (Wednesday) in the West Wight to try and help the Island cope with its care crisis.

Following months of critical levels of staff shortages, which have led to cancelled visits, a care home closure and a gridlocked hospital, a solution to the crisis could be on the cards.

In a jointly funded partnership, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Isle of Wight Council are piloting a new approach to the support a person receives.

Based at The Gouldings, in Freshwater, it will enable patients to get the care they need in an established health and care setting rather than through multiple visits to their own homes.

Patients will need a referral to the hub.

Speaking at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust Board meeting last month, Dr Lesley Stevens, director of community and mental health, said short and medium-term solutions were being brought online to address the huge pressures in social care and increase the capacity.

Dr Stevens another measure being taken to address the issues was stepping up the trust's support directly into care homes to give them more confidence in taking more residents.

A council spokesperson said it was hoped the new hub would not only enable the support already in place to be streamlined but also reduce the number of professionals visiting people at home and the interruptions to daily life that can create.

They said: "The service will also help reduce social isolation by bringing people who would otherwise be home alone together."

The health and social care hub, the council says, will be closely monitored and reviewed to ensure it is delivering positive outcomes.

Joe Smyth, trust chief operating officer, said patients were being held up far longer than was absolutely necessary, unable to leave the hospital due to no spaces in social care in a bottleneck created by staff shortages and a lack of care packages.

He said there was no easy solution to fill the vacant positions but hope was on the horizon.