Will Isle of Wight patients with mainland appointments, reliant on ferry sailings, have to travel more for treatment, under plans to merge acute services at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust?

Will there be continued early morning appointments and long waits for care or will it mean access to a wider range of services?

Questions are being asked about what this week's major NHS announcement actually means for people on the Isle of Wight.

Health bosses have not yet been available to answer them.

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In Tuesday's statement, the trusts said they would work more closely, while remaining two separate, statutory organisations.

Under them, services will be delivered to 800,000 people across Portsmouth, southeast Hampshire and the Island.

Meanwhile, the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service, which is rated good by the CQC, is to strengthen its partnership with the inadequate-rated South Central Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust.

Healthwatch told the Isle of Wight County Press it had questions.

The patient group was already due to publish a report about the difficulties faced by those who have been travelling across the Solent for appointments and those on waiting lists for some surgeries.

Healthwatch says unreliability and the price of ferries have been leading to heightened anxiety.

It pointed the finger at a recruitment crisis as a possible reason behind the announcement but added it could mean Islanders would benefit from a wider range of specialist staff and services.

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Meanwhile, financial support for patients could be cut under the Isle of Wight Council's budget plans.

The leading Alliance Group's proposals will see funding slashed in 2023/24 - by the amount that was unclaimed this year - if they are passed on February 22.

Health bosses said a merger between the two trusts was the logical next step.

They broke the news to over 450 staff on Wednesday, who asked 'loads of great questions', according to a tweet.

The NHS statement said: "All partners are ambitious for the Isle of Wight and want to ensure that Islanders, as well as those visiting the Island, receive the best possible care and health outcomes."

The trusts' merger was welcomed by MP Bob Seely, who said it would mean a more integrated approach to healthcare and joined-up thinking.

He said it paved the way for more reforms, later this year.

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Healthwatch said: "Health services must ensure that Island residents are not disadvantaged by living on an Island.

"People have told us they are still being given early morning appointments at hospitals on the mainland and they are being asked to attend routine pre-assessment appointments, when they could have been delivered here on the Island. 

"It is imperative that health services engage with the IOW community to ensure that local people have a say in how local services are delivered."

A single chief executive will be appointed across the two trusts and in recent years the roles have commanded salaries of around £200,000p.a..