News

Additional £24 million required for health per year, scrutiny learns

Last week (Thursday 6 June), the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel questioned the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Tom Binet, in a Quarterly Public Hearing.

Health Funding

The Panel heard that due to the rising cost of healthcare, the Minister believes that an additional £24 million will be required each year across 2024 and 2025. The Panel heard that this figure is dependant on more long-term savings being secured.

Women's Health

The Panel also questioned the Minister on the progress of several workflows relating to women's health, regarding contraception, IVF treatment, and the termination of pregnancy. The Panel learned that work has been halted on the termination of pregnancy work due to insufficient resources. Work on contraception is anticipated to begin in the summer, and the business case for work on IVF treatment has been submitted for consideration in the next Government Plan.

Hospital Pharmacy

The Panel raised questions around the Hospital Pharmacy and learned that seven new vacancies have been created, and that an external review is currently being conducted, looking into culture, interactions with the community, and pharmacy processes. The Panel also heard that Jersey's Hospital Pharmacy dispenses around four times as many drugs as a UK hospital of similar size, and that around 50% of those are available on the GP list and could be provided by community pharmacists.

Rheumatology

The Panel questioned the Minister on the ongoing investigation into patient deaths that may have resulted from care provided in the Rheumatology Department and heard that several cases will be referred to the Viscount for further investigation. Deputy Medical Director Simon West agreed that it was "possible or likely" that a very small proportion of patients died as a result of their care in rheumatology.

Deputy Jonathan Renouf, Vice-Chair of the Panel, said: "It is concerning that the deficit in HCS funding has ballooned from £18 million a few months ago to £24 million now. Clearly, not just States Members but the Island is going to have to have a serious debate about healthcare funding going forward."

The recording of the hearing is available here.