THE Health Minister is gearing up to ask for a “considerable increase in funding” for his department amid a “lot of problems” with waiting lists – but admitted that he does not have a “clear plan” to tackle the issue.
Deputy Tom Binet last month revealed that numerous routine elective procedures – that “may be of limited clinical value” or “may not represent best use of the funds available” – were being reviewed.
At the time, the minister also said he would be asking the States Assembly to sanction a “major increase” in funding for the health service, citing pressure to deliver an “efficient, value for money health service” at a time of “sharply rising costs in all areas”.
In the States Assembly yesterday, Deputy Binet revealed further details about his plans.
He explained that the ongoing review of elective procedures forms “an essential part” of work to develop a new treatments and interventions prioritisation policy. These policies are used in the UK and globally to establish criteria and frameworks for deciding which healthcare interventions to fund or implement when resources are limited.
Deputy Binet said: “At present, we are reliant on a narrow and outdated policy which does little more than set criteria for access to publicly funded surgeries. The new policy will cover access to surgery, wider treatments, and medicines.”
He added that “if everything goes according to plan” the findings of the elective procedures review will be presented at the next meeting of the Health Advisory Board on Thursday 25 September.
The Health Minister also yesterday told his fellow politicians that he would be seeking a “considerable increase in funding for lots of different areas in health”.
He was responding to a question from Deputy Inna Gardiner about when health waiting lists will start to reduce.
As of 31 July 2025, there were 3,463 patients waiting for an elective admission to hospital across all departments. The median waiting time is currently 17 weeks.
Almost 500 patients have been waiting over a year for their elective procedure.
Deputy Binet said: “We’re having a lot of problems with an awful lot of waiting lists.”
The minister noted that “it’s going to take some considerable time to put these to put these issues right”.
“It’s not something that we can solve in the next three months, and I’d be lying if I said that we had a clear plan to do that,” he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Jonathan Renouf raised concerns that the ongoing review of elective procedures could result in a “two-tier” health service where some procedures will only be available to those who can afford to pay.
Deputy Binet replied that the review intends to provide guidance on what treatments should be prioritised in terms of importance.
He continued: “Healthcare becomes more and more complicated every year, and more and more procedures and treatments are introduced – and every now and again you have to have review.
“I think it’s some considerable time since that’s been done, and we’re relying on a lot of information that was put together many years ago, so I think it’s high time that we did this review.
“And I’m sure that when it comes out that everybody in the Assembly will find that it is a considerable improvement on what we’re working with at the moment.”
The minister also agreed to publish the terms of reference for the review of elective procedures. The JEP has requested a copy of this.
