Health service cannot continue as it is - GP

Patients have said they have been "let down" by Jersey's health service and the "whole health system needs a shake up".

The BBC has spoken to islanders about their experiences of the health service ahead of the island's election on Sunday.

Island GP, Dr Jessica Langtree Marsh said the health service faced a funding challenge and "cannot carry on as it is" with an ageing population.

The government said ministers could not comment on individual cases or wider policy matters in the lead up to the election.

Curtis Newton, who has type one diabetes, said he started vomiting daily after he got Covid in 2020 - and it had continued since.

He said it meant he had to leave university twice, was unable to return to his studies, and cannot work.

Newton said as well as vomiting, he struggles with optical and cluster migraines and brain fog.

"I can barely go out. I used to very much be a nightlife kind of person, going out on a regular basis, having a drink but I can't do that anymore. So, it's affected how I socialise with people.

"I have to spend so much time indoors that I feel like Gollum sometimes.

"Even the sun sometimes is too much for me. I have to wear sunglasses basically every time I go outside."

Despite vomiting daily for years, he said he had not had a diagnosis which had been a huge source of frustration for him.

He said: "I feel like there are a lot of doctors who are very well intentioned and do a lot of good work.

"But there are a lot of systemic problems..."

He said "sometimes" his "test results don't even get sent to my GP".

Newton said he had been passed around different departments and felt the failure in his treatment had been down to low staffing levels.

"There is barely anyone there to answer the phone, it does feel like sometimes maybe because there's just not enough of them, they let a lot of things go."

In 2025 a politician raised concerns about staff shift patterns because of a "recruitment and retention crisis."

In addition to staffing challenges several departments in Jersey's health service have been subject to independent reviews.

The highest profile one was a review by the Royal College of Physicians into the rheumatology department - which found in some cases patients were being misdiagnosed or given the wrong medication.

In April, a review of more than 1,000 patients who underwent bone densitometry scans between January 2017 and January 2022 found "potential concerns" with diagnosis and treatment recommendations for some patients.

In 20 cases, patient care fell "below the level that would have been expected".

One of those 20 patients was Marina Mauger who said she was told she did not have osteoporosis but has since found out she has the condition.

"In 2018, I was told my bone density was fine and suddenly in April I get a letter out of the blue that started 'we have some important information for you with reference to your bone scan in 2018', it went on to apologise and say certain things hadn't been picked up and I did in fact have osteoporosis.

"I'm actually due to have spinal surgery, so of course I panicked, to read you have osteoporosis when you need spinal surgery is really quite frightening, what if something goes wrong and it damages my spine?"

Mauger said she had serious concerns about the health service ahead of the election.

"Record-keeping definitely because there are key parts of my information that are missing...

"I hear a lot from people that waiting times are enormous, it just seems the whole health service needs a complete shake up."

As of 30 April 2026, there were 3,661 patients waiting for an elective admission to hospital across all specialities.

At the time, Simon West, the medical director for Health and Care Jersey, apologised to those who had been affected by the issues with bone density scans.

Marsh, who runs the women's health hub, said the issues around bone density scans that impacted Mauger were an example of health inequalities in the service.

The last government didn't have a specific women's health strategy.

She said: "Essentially Dexa Scanning (bone densitometry scans) is important as it looks at the quality of your bones and we know that women are more at risk of osteoporosis than men, four times more at risk.

"A third of people breaking a hip will die, so actually, Dexa scanning and getting it right is really important for women's health."

Funding has been a big issue for the health service for a number of years.

The last government budget approved an extra £60m of funding for the health service, with the outgoing health minister, Deputy Tom Binet previously saying the department was "underfunded".

Marsh explained that funding challenges were still there a huge issue.

"The health service cannot continue as it is, the population is getting older and the amount of working people is getting smaller and so we need to look at the way that we're funding our health care service."

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