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Good afternoon,
As the proposed new hospital at the Overdale site is under discussion, I wanted to write to you with my thoughts and comments.
LOCATION
Personally, I prefer the location of St Saviour's hospital, rather than the Overdale site, as this will save on access and compulsory purchase costs. Also St Saviour is a convenient central location, and nobody would want to "park and ride" to access the Overdale site.
SITE DESIGN
When I saw the size of the proposed new hospital (as featured in the JEP), I thought that the design was a monstrosity, and completely out of scale and context with the surrounding landscape. It is a huge mistake placing a building of this size directly on the skyline, it makes St Helier look like a dolly town. The design is a complete vanity project - for instance why do we need a double height atrium? It would be better to set a building of this magnitude well back from the skyline, with lower, less intrusive structures and landscaped gardens in the front of the site, on the skyline. All parking should be onsite, underground and free to hospital staff.
BUDGET
I am concerned that the new hospital at Overdale may end up costing the obscene amount of 1 billion pounds. This would be an unnecessary burden on the tax paying public of Jersey for generations to come. Sadly, I feel that the Overdale site and the budget are foregone conclusions, but every attempt should be made to use local builders/tradesmen and to put this project out to tender to get the best value for Jersey residents. Alternatively, if we have to use a specialist building firm, why not contact the French Firm AIA Life Designers in Brittany? It was reported in November 2018 that they could build our hospital for 90 million on a green field site and they are currently building hospitals in China and Monaco.
INVESTING IN DOCTORS/NURSES
Before a decision is made to invest so heavily in building a new hospital, I think we should invest in recruiting more nurses and doctors and paying all hospital staff generously. There is currently a long waiting list for patients requiring operations or scans etc as there is not enough qualified personnel employed at the hospital. Additionally, we should encourage more local people to join the medical profession and set up apprenticeships accordingly. I believe (after speaking to doctors at the hospital) that the Nightingale unit was not used because there was simply not enough hospital staff available to run it. I agree with former Senator Ben Shenton, that there should have been a debate whether this unit should have been erected in the first place. It was completely over the top for a population of our size but was hastily pushed through without proper public consultation or research. What a complete waste of tax-payers money!
I hope that you will take these points into consideration in any forthcoming debate in the States Assembly. Please feel free to publish my thoughts on your website.
With kind regards Sophie Dixon