DRAFT ANNUAL BUSINESS PLAN 2010 (P.117/2009):
NINETEENTH AMENDMENT
1 PAGE 3, PARAGRAPH (b) –
After the words “withdrawn from the consolidated fund in 2010”, insert the words –
“except that the net revenue expenditure of the Health and Social Services Department shall be increased by £1,100,000 ”
2 PAGE 3, PARAGRAPH (f) –
After the words “Summary Table C, page 96, for the period 2011 to 2014”,insert the words –
“except that total indicative net revenue expenditure of the Health and Social Services Department shall be increased by £1,127,500 in 2011 and by £1,155,700 in 2012 and by a similar sum (increased in accordance with the appropriate non-staff inflation figure) for 2013 and 2014.”.
CHIEF MINISTER
NOTE:
This amendment has been lodged by the Chief Minister less than 14 days before the start of the debate in accordance with the provisions of Article 11(5) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005. Paragraphs (4) and (5) of Article 11 are in the following terms –
(4) A draft annual business plan is not capable of being amended during a debate in the States on the draft except in accordance with an amendment lodged at least 14 days before the start of the debate.
(5) Paragraph (4) does not apply to an amendment moved by the Chief Minister if the States agree that the amendment may be debated forthwith or at a time approved by the States.
In accordance with the provisions of paragraph (5) the Chief Minister will seek the agreement of the States to debate this amendment during the debate on the Annual Business Plan 2010.
Report
The scale of the challenges facing the Health and Social Services department is known to Members. Notwithstanding the additional £15 million already allocated to Health, in order to respond to the nursing and medical staff establishment and other pressures which have emerged since the Business Plan was lodged, the Council of Ministers exceptionally has accepted that more funding is required in 2010.
The provision of safe, effective and efficient healthcare is fundamentally reliant on the ability to recruit and retain a professional workforce. Nurses and Medical Staff are the flexible backbone of healthcare organisations. Without appropriate numbers of staff equipped with the right skills and experience the ability to sustain fit for purpose care is in jeopardy.
Health and Social Services has worked hard over the years to develop local solutions to global issues but the worrying change this year is the sudden increase in numbers of nurses and medical staff who are leaving Jersey.
In recent months we have seen a change from a difficult recruitment problem to an acute one. In order to maintain safe services and attract new staff it has been considered necessary to provide investment for additional Nursing and Medical Staff to ensure staff are attracted into the service. It is recognised that staff will only be attracted to the Island if Jersey has appropriate staffing ratios to enable high quality care to be delivered.
The business plan identified £2 million of urgent additional investment required in nursing and medical staff establishments in 2010 to manage this now acute problem. The funding will be achieved from a transfer of primary care services to Social Security department. These services have an estimated value of £0.9 million and will be funded from the Health Insurance Fund, subject to the States approving amended regulations to that Fund.
The balance of £1.1 million is required as an additional cash limit increase as set out in this amendment. The manpower implications are unaffected as the original business plan submission included the planned investment.
A revised summary of the Health and Social Services Business Plan (page 65 of the Annex) is included for information.
Financial implications
These amendments will increase the Health and Social Services net revenue expenditure allocation and therefore the total net revenue expenditure of the States for 2010 by £1.1 million and a similar increase in future years. There are no additional manpower implications of this amendment.