Isles of Scilly Island Haven campaign for hospital accommodation

Ollie Matthews spent the first five weeks of his life in a neonatal ward on the mainland

Islanders say health emergencies are made "infinitely worse" with acute healthcare being 60 miles (96km) across the sea from home.

Patients on the Isles of Scilly said they experienced a "unique" lack of support away from home which desperately needed addressing.

The nearest major hospital is in Truro, Cornwall, meaning some people face large hotel bills while undergoing treatment, while others had been discharged during the night with nowhere to go.

They have been telling the BBC about their fight for a dedicated accommodation block on the hospital site.

The aim is to provide accessible accommodation at an "affordable" cost to patients and their loved ones.

Islanders have set up a charity in the hope of raising £1m to fund the scheme.

The Matthews family said accommodation for islanders at the mainland acute hospital was desperately needed

Jo Matthews, 30, and her husband Tom, 33, run a campsite on Bryher, the island where she grew up, with a population of 90.

At 27 weeks pregnant, her waters broke and she had to fly to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro.

She and her husband ended up facing a three-month ordeal based on the mainland as her son Ollie was born prematurely at 31 weeks, needing neo-natal ward care.

"It was just so stressful not knowing where we were going to stay," she said.

The islands attract thousands of visitors each year

"I could not take it in... I was flown out with just the clothes on my back," she explained.

What followed was "sofa-surfing", staying in friends' spare rooms, costly hotels and car hire at a deeply stressful time for the couple.

"Friends were fantastic, but you just want to be able to go home and cry," she said.

Ollie Matthews from Bryher was born at 31 weeks on the mainland

"It was absolutely exhausting... emotionally exhausting," Mr Matthews said.

"It makes a stressful situation infinitely worse and your bills at home don't stop because you're away."

'One of my lowest moments'

People across the Isles of Scilly report feeling the same anxiety about the impact of hospital treatment.

"Sitting outside in the dark with a hungry toddler who was ill and had been awake all night was one of my lowest moments," said one mother, who did not want to give her name.

Her daughter was discharged from the hospital at 04:00 one day, having been flown out at 22:00 the previous night.

A campaign to build accommodation for islanders at the Royal Cornwall Hospital began more than three years ago

While the mother was regularly vomiting with morning sickness, they had to wait until 07:00 for an available friend to take them to the nearest train station to embark on the onward air travel home.

"I know people who have been flown out with no spare clothes, no money, no phone charger and it's difficult to explain how that feels," she said.

It is not just for emergencies that islanders find themselves stuck - they need a place to stay during longer-term outpatient treatment, in a county which is busy with tourists during the summer.

The Island Haven charity venture secured celebrity patrons in 2022

Islanders are trying to raise money for an accommodation block on the hospital site, modelled on the Hearts Together facility at Derriford in Plymouth.

Island Haven, a registered charity since 2020, has raised £150,000 but was stalled by the pandemic and said it needed about £1m to make the project a reality.

It recently secured celebrity endorsement from actor Jude Law - who was once spotted at an island village fete, Alison Steadman and Anneka Rice, all with connections to the islands.

The Matthews family said they were one of many affected

Trustee Patricia Matthews, Ollie Matthews' grandmother, said the islanders had "a unique situation" separated from the hospital by an expanse of ocean.

She added: "Everyone thinks everyone here lives in paradise but there are people in hardship - it's still the real world."

The Isles of Scilly are a popular UK tourist destination

Ms Matthews said building plans had been drawn up, but it still needed the official approval by hospital bosses, plus planning permission.

Thom Lafferty, director of strategy and performance at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We are currently carrying out an options appraisal on a potential site that, working with The Island Haven Trust, we'd like to develop into some accommodation that can serve as a home away from home for the patients and families of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

"The family accommodation unit could provide an amazing and comforting space for families to use in challenging times.

"We still have work to do before we know whether this is something that we can achieve, and hope to have a clearer way forward in the summer."

"It would make the world different for us," Mr Matthews said.

"It's absolutely vital".