THE government has been urged to spell out actions that will be taken to improve health outcomes for women in Jersey, as well as a “roadmap” addressing key issues in preventative health.
Twin Budget amendments lodged by the Health and Social Security Panel will, if supported by politicians during next week’s debate, require Health Minister Tom Binet to take specific steps around both areas.
The call to sharpen the focus on women’s health comes after Deputy Binet confirmed in April 2024 that work to develop a standalone Women’s Health Strategy would not be continued, with individual projects being progressed as part of general policy.
In its accompanying report, the panel included feedback from attendees at a public hearing in April 2025 concentrating on women’s health where it was concluded that “one of the biggest concerns that the panel is hearing from women and from professionals is that the decision to scrap the standalone Women’s Health Strategy indicates a lack of long-term commitment.”
Deputy Binet is subsequently quoted as telling the same hearing that developing this strategy would take one of his team of policy officers around three to four months.
The proposed strategy, to be completed by December 2026, is described by the panel as being essential for three reasons: providing clear direction and reassurance that women’s health is a priority; enabling future administrations to build on existing work rather than starting anew; and enabling effective monitoring of progress and prioritisation of funding for critical services.
With regard to preventative health, defined as a strategy focused on keeping Islanders healthy and stopping illness before it starts, rather than just treating it, the Scrutiny panel said that through the production of a roadmap, the department would be better able to demonstrate the benefits that could be achieved as a result of increased investment in this area in future Budgets.
The accompanying report for the second amendment noted how Jersey spent 2% of combined health expenditure on preventative health compared with 6% in Canada, regarded as the so-called “gold standard” level for such investment, and 4% in the UK.
“The panel considers that developing a Jersey-specific model, aligned with international best practice and integrated with digital innovation, is essential,” the report continued. “A clear roadmap will provide the structure needed for integrated planning, efficient use of resources, and a coordinated approach across government and community stakeholders – it will strengthen the case for future funding and ensure preventative health strategies are implemented effectively and sustainably.”
The two amendments are among a raft proposed by Scrutiny panels and individual backbenchers that will be debated in the Chamber next week.
