THE Health Minister has defended his decision not to hold a public consultation over major changes to the structure of Jersey’s health services — despite previously indicating that he would.
Deputy Tom Binet was challenged on the issue in the States Assembly by Deputy Jonathan Renouf yesterday morning.
He pointed to a letter from July 2024 in which Deputy Binet stated that proposals for structural reform would be put out for public consultation in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The letter was sent from the minister to the Hospital Review Panel, which was formed to scrutinise the progress of the government’s plans for a hospital at Overdale – the proposals were recently given the green light by the Planning Committee.
The letter read: “It is anticipated that these proposals for structural reform will be published for public consultation in Q4 2024 (subject to receiving the correct approvals as part of overall governance).”
Deputy Binet admitted that he might have misspoken in that letter – meaning to say “for public consumption” rather than “public consultation” – and insisted that consultation was unnecessary.
“I cannot see an instance why I would have suggested that,” he said.
He argued that the changes – such as integrating policy functions into the health service and appointing key officials – were internal matters that did not require public input.
“Are we really going to go and consult with 100,000 people about internal changes?” he asked.
Responding, Deputy Renouf argued that the changes represented the most “fundamental reorganisation “of Jersey’s health services in recent memory and that public engagement was appropriate.
“Poking a rather irritated bear” – see the online and print editions of Wednesday’s JEP for Tom Innes’s Parliamentary Sketch
