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STATES OF JERSEY
PROPOSED GOVERNMENT PLAN 2024 - 2027 (P.72/2023): COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 28th November 2023 by the Future Hospital Review Panel
STATES GREFFE
2023 P.72 Com.
COMMENTS
The Government Plan 2024 – 2027, lodged by the Council of Ministers on 19 September 2023, outlines the Government’s funding plans for the next phase of the New Healthcare Facilities Programme (NHFP).
The NHFP is the subject of an ongoing review by the Future Hospital Review Panel and Members will be aware that the Panel has recently presented S.R.3/2023 New Healthcare Facilities Programme Review – Interim Report as part of this review.
The terms of reference for the report include the monitoring of governance and current and anticipated spend on the NHFP and, as such, the detail contained within the proposed Government Plan 2024 – 2027 has been examined as part of the remit of the work which has been done. The Panel believes that many of its findings and recommendations are directly relevant to the forthcoming debate on the Government Plan.
The Panel is clear that there is an urgent need for new hospital facilities and that any further delay would be unacceptable to the States Assembly and to the public of Jersey. It is, however, the work of Scrutiny to ensure that in meeting this need processes are robust and that the governance of this huge programme of work, which covers at least three major infrastructure projects, is sound and compliant with the relevant frameworks.
It is also important that States Members are able to make informed decisions based on the best and most accurate information available at the time. As expressed in the report the Panel remains concerned by the lack of information available to States Members about the overall cost of the full programme – as distinct from what has been contained in the Government Plan 2024 - 2027 – on which to base their decision-making.
It is this concern which has led it to make recommendations which asks the Government to reconsider its position on the information which it has provided to date and to provide a cost range for the entire project – with any necessary caveats – ahead of the debate on the Government Plan 2024 – 2027 in December.
In making this recommendation the Panel is not seeking to delay the programme. Its hope is that clarity and transparency on the cost range and final scope of the whole programme will help provide some consensus based on solid and robust information and reduce the risks of any further delays or halts to the overall programme and/or its component projects.
The full terms of reference for the New Healthcare Facilities Programme Review are:
• To examine the Government’s progress in developing the project to deliver new healthcare facilities for Jersey, including the functional briefs and feasibility studies for:
- The long-term use of the former Les Quennevais School
- The revision of plans for the Overdale site (including the use of land acquired)
- The use and development of the General Hospital
- Development and purchase of land at Gloucester Street and Kensington Place
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- The extension of the scope to other locations
• To monitor the governance of the project to deliver new healthcare.
• To monitor current and anticipated spending on the project to deliver new healthcare facilities.
• To monitor the continued use of current healthcare locations and any risks to services presented by those locations.
• To monitor Government communication with healthcare professionals, stakeholders and the public to ensure that they are clear, honest and targeted.
These terms of reference, which are publicly available on the States Assembly website provide the basis on which evidence is collected and a clear framework for the public about the reason the review and precisely what will be under examination.
Evidence for this report was gathered from Government Officers, relevant Ministers, the Comptroller and Auditor General and stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, residents and businesses of the areas involved and members of the public.
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