Fundamental health plans due before end of 2027

Proposals which could see people in Guernsey pay more for healthcare are due to be published before the end of next year.

Health and Social Care (HSC) started work on the creation of a new model for healthcare locally last year, and warned it could see people pay more for things like meals at hospital and treatments.

The committee has made it the top priority in its workplan for the political term and HSC President George Oswald said he believed a policy letter on the plans would be published before the end of 2027.

Oswald said: "This will probably require some fairly difficult decisions for both the island to make as a whole and for the States of Guernsey in particular to make."

Oswald said there was nowhere in the developed world that had managed to reduce its healthcare budget, without big cuts to the service it provides.

Under option A in Policy and Resources' budget for 2027 HSC's budget would be £267.5m, whilst under option B it would be £270.6m.

When it came to charging more for healthcare, Oswald said: "We have to look and see what we're subsidising and whether actually there's room for gaining extra income from these areas.

"We've got an inexorable rise in demand, pressure of about five to six million quid a year, which is considered to be unsustainable."

Despite HSC working to produce its proposals before the end of 2027, meaning they'll be debated this political term, Oswald warned any changes agreed by the States were unlikely to be introduced before the end of this term in 2029.

"If we don't do anything it will be too late and we will end up with the needs of healthcare delivery on the island consuming an increasing amount of the States of Guernsey budget as a whole."

Oswald suggested Guernsey may need to rely more on the NHS and off-island partnerships with Jersey in future as growing specialisation made it harder for a small island to provide all healthcare services itself.

Part of the review will see a renegotiation of the multi-million pound contract with Guernsey's Medical Specialist Group (MSG), which provides secondary healthcare services locally.

Oswald was one of the founders of the group and said he would take part in these negotiations and there was no conflict of interest.

In 2025 it was revealed issues with fire safety had led to delays with the opening of a new critical care unit at Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital.

Those problems mean the facility is now slated to open next year, and is set to come in millions of pounds above its original budget.

Oswald would not say who he felt was responsible for the problems.

He said: "What has put it about £4m over is extra work which has resulted principally because of change of fire regulations and fire issues in the UK, subsequent to the Grenfell Tower issue.

"There were issues which related to remedial work which the contractor has acknowledged and has taken responsibility for repairing.

"We have to deliver a building which is safe for the public to use."

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