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Our health and care challenges

Like every community, on the Isle of Wight we are having to deal with a number of difficult challenges which put pressure on the health and care services we offer, namely:

  • People leading unhealthy lifestyles (smoking, obesity, alcohol related lifestyle issues)
  • People living longer and needing more support (27.1% of our population is aged 65+ and population projections indicate by 2025 this will have risen to 30%)
  • An increase in the number of people living with long term illnesses (those for which there is currently no cure but which can be managed with drugs and other treatment for example Diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), arthritis and hypertension)
  • A workforce that needs to develop and change (we struggle to recruit staff especially those in specialist roles and GPs making it difficult to maintain services)
  • Financial pressures on public services
  • Higher costs of providing services on the Island
  • The need to provide the best quality of care to Island residents within these constraints

The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for the Island, paints a comprehensive picture of the needs of local people and is used to help prepare the Island's Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy - the plan that is then used to ensure that we can meet these needs as an Island together and prioritise the work we do.