NHS STAFF from across Hampshire will join forces this week to showcase plans for the future of healthcare in the south.

Led by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), events will be held in Southampton, Portsmouth and on the Isle of Wight.

The first drop-in session took place in Basingstoke last week and provided an opportunity for members of the public and staff to find out more about developments in services.

The events follow a survey conducted by Healthwatch, a national and regional group of bodies which aim to ensure the needs and ideas of patients and the public are listened to and responded to.

Among the topics to be discussed at the events this week will be the current challenges facing healthcare, such as increasing demand and ensuring the numbers of staff being recruited keeps pace with growth.

Various clinicians, specialists and support staff will be on-hand to describe plans around mental health, cancer, GP services and digital developments, as well as a dedicated wellbeing area demonstrating a focus on staying well and preventing ill health and the role of volunteers in the NHS.

The Southampton event, which was held at Solent University on October 14, featured the work of the Wessex Cancer Alliance, which is chaired by University Hospital Southampton’s chief executive Paula Head and urological surgeon Matt Hayes.

Projects currently underway under this alliance include the WesFit clinical trial into prehabilitation before cancer surgery.

“We are hosting this event to discuss with local people, staff and community groups how we are responding to the commitments set out in the national NHS long term plan,” said Richard Samuel, lead for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight STP.

“We will be describing our local priorities based on the opportunities available to us, the current challenges we face such as increasing demand and the availability of workforce and, crucially, what our population has told us needs to change.”