Other key messages from the Jersey Consumer Council forums were that participants believe doctors and dentists are too expensive and not always good value for money, and that there is a lack of price lists in doctors’ surgeries.
Respondents also said there was also a lack of privacy for patients arriving at the Accident and Emergency Department at the Hospital. They also expressed ‘utter sadness, fear and frustration over the perceived lack of mental health care provision for teenagers’, said the Consumer Council, which commissioned the study.
The Primary Health Care focus groups, run by independent Jersey market research company 4insight Ltd, were organised by the council following the success of the primary health care survey it carried out in 2012.
A total of eight focus groups were held, involving 54 participants across all ages who had responded to requests for Islanders to come forward. Respondents were screened to ensure that only representatives of the general public took part.
Advocate Rose Colley, Jersey Consumer Council chairman, said: ‘We were overwhelmed by the participants’ honesty, raw emotion and contribution in each group.
‘They were surprisingly clear that free GP care is not an option, as they recognise that our health system would be overwhelmed and potentially abused as someone, somewhere has to fund the provision of Jersey’s GP care.
‘This would indicate that Islanders are aware of the costs, are genuinely responsible and are practical in their approach to health care.
‘The focus group results clearly indicate that patients do not aspire to free primary health care and that they are mindful of the potential consequences in terms of the availability of a GP, plus the implications of who should fund the service.
‘Consumers felt that the health system may get clogged and abused if doctors’ appointments were free, and some felt that the individuals should take greater responsibility for their own health.’
Mrs Colley said that most people at the groups took a responsible attitude towards their health, but added that the discussions highlighted that many Islanders have a ‘strong moral belief’ that visiting the Accident and Emergency Department is not an entitlement.
‘Some felt that individual needs to take greater responsibility for their own health,’ she added.
The Consumer Council has presented the findings to the Health Minister, senior Health Department staff, Social Security, and the Jersey Dental Association, among others.
Mrs Colley urged those in the government making decisions on health matters not to underestimate ‘the voice of the patient’.
The results of the focus group are to be published in a Primary Health Care report.
ISLANDERS want a fair health system which is accessible to all.
The results of a survey conducted by the Consumer Council, which are published today, show that a majority of those who responded thought that a visit to the doctor was too expensive, but did not want GP appointments to be free.
You only have to look at the mess that the NHS is in in the UK to see why free primary health care is as much a curse as a blessing. In England, GPs’ surgeries are clogged up by people who do not need to seek expensive medical help, especially for common colds and flu.
There are, however, aspects of the UK system which, if introduced in Jersey, would make our primary care more efficient and less expensive for patients.
Across the Channel, for example, surgery-based nurses are responsible for consultations and procedures which are still done by doctors in Jersey – not least because doctors get taxpayers’ money from Social Security for things like blood tests, whereas nurses would not.
Those at the top of the Health Department understand the need to reform health services in the Island to get a better deal for patients and taxpayers – and to ensure that the Island can cope with an ageing population.
As part of that work they must ensure that GP services are working in the interests of the community and not simply for the benefit of the practice partners.
The market is already playing an important part in driving down the cost of a visit to the doctor, with some surgeries offering free care for children. Competition is good for price and quality.
If the Consumer Council’s findings are representative of the views of the vast majority – and it seems entirely reasonable that they are – it is gratifying to know that Health Minister Andrew Green and his team at Peter Crill House are pushing in the same direction.
Health chiefs have to bring together third-sector organisations, businesses and their own people to create a health service fit for many years to come. Co-operation and understanding for the long-term good of the community are now essential.
