21 September 2009
The Chief Minister has lodged an amendment to the Draft 2010 Business Plan, asking the States to approve an extra £1.1m to fund more front line medical staff.
Senator Terry Le Sueur said: “Now that the new Health Minister has settled into her role, the Council of Ministers is tackling the major health issues. Over the last few months we have recognised that investment is needed in nursing and medical staff, and so we are lodging an amendment to the 2010 Business Plan.”
The Treasury Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf, said: “The Chief Minister is asking the States to increase the cash limits for Health and Social Services by £1.1m to meet a critical need for more nurses at the hospital. This extra expenditure is the only responsible way to ensure our emergency care is ready for the challenges to come.
“A total of £2m is needed to keep the acute services at the hospital running safely, so as well as the £1.1 million, Health and Social Services has reviewed its budget and proposes to charge for certain services provided free to GPs. Consequently, the Social Security Minister will, with the support of the Council of Ministers, propose increases to benefits funded from the Health Insurance Fund, to match the increased fees that the patient will inevitably be faced with.”
Senator Le Sueur added: “We are bringing this amendment as we have no alternative. We are still determined not to incur additional expenditure without finding matching savings, but we feel this is a special case. Savings will need to be found, but the Health Minister needs time to properly analyse the options.
“We are taking this decisive action now because we need to ensure standards are maintained at the hospital. The scale of the problem has become clear - if we can’t recruit enough nurses we, can’t run an efficient service at the hospital and lives may be at risk. It is absolutely crucial that we meet this critical demand.”
The Health Minister, Deputy Anne Pryke, said: “My department needs more money to recruit more nursing and medical staff. Having received the results of a review of nursing staff and walked around the wards, where my team and I heard first hand the issues facing staff, I believe it is essential that the problems of recruitment and retention are addressed. Patients coming into hospital are more dependent than ever before, so we need more nursing and medical staff to care for them.”
The amendment will be debated as part of the 2010 Business Plan.
Amendment to the Draft 2010 Business Plan 
(PDF, size 132Kb) (opens in new window
gov.je