Islanders invited to suggest sites for new hospital

18 December 2019

To ensure that all possible options for Jersey’s new hospital have been carefully considered, Islanders are being invited to suggest any additional potential locations for the building that were not considered in the previous project.

In the new year, the Our Hospital project will begin to review all the sites that were considered under the previous project, reusing the technical assessments undertaken at the time. However, the project wants members of the public to have the opportunity to nominate any further sites that they believe should be considered. Islanders are being given six weeks to make suggestions.

Potential sites for the new hospital site will be assessed according to a robust, transparent and objective set of criteria, including whether it is big enough for a hospital. Specialist health planners are currently determining the minimum footprint or size of the new hospital and it will be one of the first criteria used to rule in – or rule out – any site as suitable. Clinical and patient needs, currently being developed by the Clinical Director, will also be among the first set of tests applied to any potential site.

Following that, each of the suggested locations will be assessed against technical and environmental criteria by the Our Hospital Project Team, which includes specialist advisors and clinicians, to identify a small number of credible potential sites which can then be assessed in greater detail.

Assistant Minister for Health and Community Services, Deputy Hugh Raymond, said: “Although the final site will not be chosen for some months yet, it is important that we start looking at possible sites in the new year. By inviting the public to make suggestions, we are leaving no stone unturned in our search for the best possible location for our new hospital.

“All the suggestions we receive will be added to the 41 sites from the previous project, so we have a complete list of possible sites for Jersey’s new hospital.

“We understand that the public may be frustrated that we are reviewing sites that had already been considered and rejected by the previous project, but we need to be thorough and demonstrate that we aren’t ruling anything out without proper consideration. Once we have a list of all potential locations for the hospital, the process of elimination will move very quickly indeed, until we are down to our preferred site by September next year.

“We will be keeping the public updated throughout the process as to which sites have been removed from the process and explaining why in each case.”

Any Islander who knows of a location that may be available, or could be better used to build Jersey’s new hospital, can make their suggestions by logging on to Our Hospital

The closing date for submissions is Friday, 24 January, 2020.

All submissions will also be shared with the current search for new development sites under the proposed new Island Plan.