\n Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s leadership has been rated as “requires improvement” following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).\n<\/p>\n
\n The rating was given to the trust, which provides community and inpatient mental health services for around two million children and adults in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.\n<\/p>\n
\n In Winchester, the trust provides care in the Cromwell House Health Hub.\n<\/p>\n
\n CQC inspectors visited the trust in October and November 2025, marking the first review of leadership since the organisation was formed through a merger in the same month.\n<\/p>\n
\n Generic hospital corridor (Image: PA)\n<\/p>\n
\n Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of mental health in the south said: “When we inspected Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, we found the trust had undertaken significant work to bring together the predecessor organisations into one new organisation.\n<\/p>\n
\n “However, some cultural and governance aspects of this transformation hadn\u2019t fully embedded, or reached frontline services, and this was impacting staff morale.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Staff told us leaders weren\u2019t visible and described a disconnect between clinical and non-clinical staff.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It was concerning that almost 20 per cent of staff said they would be reluctant to raise concerns because they didn\u2019t think their concerns would be acted upon or they felt there would be retribution.\n<\/p>\n
\n “When staff don\u2019t feel safe to speak up, risks can go unaddressed and the quality of care can suffer so it\u2019s vital the trust tackles this.”\n<\/p>\n
\n CQC inspectors also noted challenges with the trust\u2019s systems and processes, which are still being established and integrated following the merger.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Coleman said that delays to finalising the organisational structure meant that learning from safety incidents was not always shared promptly, putting people at risk of repeat incidents.\n<\/p>\n
\n She added that incompatible electronic systems further risked the loss of important clinical information and hindered staff from completing mandatory training.\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite the concerns, inspectors recognised the trust\u2019s commitment to improvement and compassionate care.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Coleman said: “We found leaders demonstrated a genuine commitment to compassionate and collaborative leadership.\n<\/p>\n
\n “They had ensured the trust\u2019s strategy was co-produced with people who used services, staff, and partner organisations and we were impressed with the work to develop lived experience leads for each division.\n<\/p>\n
\n “This is crucial for ensuring people with first-hand experience of health issues have a say in how services are designed.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We\u2019ve shared our findings with the trust\u2019s leadership, and they understand the improvements required.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We\u2019ll continue to monitor progress and return to assess whether the necessary changes have been achieved.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Other issues raised in the report included concerns from staff in mental health acute services, who felt safety risks were overlooked by leaders, and that unsafe admissions were affecting both staff wellbeing and patient care on the wards.\n<\/p>\n
\n The CQC also highlighted the need for the trust to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion.\n<\/p>\n
\n Staff with protected characteristics, including race and disability, reported negative experiences when applying for promotions and development opportunities, which inspectors said could harm morale and limit diversity at senior levels.\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite these challenges, the report noted strong, positive feedback from patients and carers about frontline staff.\n<\/p>\n
\n People said that staff involved them in decisions about their care and often went above and beyond in their support.\n<\/p>\n
\n Carers reported feeling included through regular communication and involvement in key meetings.\n<\/p>\n
\n The trust was also praised for its collaborative approach with partner organisations, including primary and social care providers, to support better outcomes for patients.\n<\/p>\n
\n It was ranked fourth out of 43 mental health trusts for clinical research, and was using virtual psychologists and consultants to address challenges some people have accessing care and treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed in October 2024 following a formal merger of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and Solent NHS Trust, and the acquisition of some services from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Isle of Wight NHS trust.\n<\/p>\n
\n The full CQC report is due to be published on the regulator\u2019s website in the coming days.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ron Shields, Chief Executive, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said:\u00a0\u201cThe CQC\u2019s findings reflect where we are as an organisation that has made strong headway following a large and complex merger, with more to do to embed consistent leadership, systems and processes that enable our staff to deliver the best possible care.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cMost importantly, the CQC\u00a0heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from\u00a0patients and carers\u00a0about the care they receive. This reflects the professionalism and commitment of our staff and the strength of the services\u00a0they\u00a0deliver.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt is also positive that, in the first Well Led assessment following the merger, the CQC recognises the\u00a0significant progress\u00a0made in bringing the new Trust together. It highlights strengths in collaborative leadership, strategy development and partnership working.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThese findings will help us continue improving and developing the way we work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s leadership has been rated as “requires improvement” following an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-672641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}