States Members are next week due to debate a proposition by Deputy Russell Labey which calls for the plans to build on the existing site to be ditched.
Chief Minister John Le Fondré has said that the Council of Ministers are supporting the move.
However, the Future Hospital Review Panel has said that doing so could lead to the Island not having a new hospital until 2038.
The panel also criticised Assistant Chief Minister Chris Taylor for publicly supporting the Overdale site before any new feasibility studies have taken place.
They also said that suggestions that a new hospital could be built for a fraction of the £466 million set aside for the scheme were not credible.
The current timescale is aiming for a new Jersey Hospital to be fully open in 2028.
The Scrutiny review panel have now warned that a vote in favour of Deputy Labey’s proposition would potentially be a vote in favour of delaying the new hospital by ten years if a new open study into the site selection process is not carried out.
It found that if the States decided to look for an alternative site, the reality could be a decade-long delay because Islanders will have to wait until the new hospital opens fully rather than the phased approach currently being worked on under the current scheme.
Deputy Kevin Pamplin, who chairs the panel, said ministers needed to improve the processes that had led to the ongoing saga and the report should send a ‘shot across the bows’ of the Council of Ministers to get their act together.
He said: ‘We have taken an impartial and evidence-based approach to reviewing recent developments in relation to the future hospital.
‘Deputy Labey’s proposition requires States Members to make a clear choice between reopening the question of site selection and continuing with the current site. There are justifiable arguments on both sides.
‘What the evidence shows, however, are the clear consequences of voting to delay the future hospital. Regardless of how we find ourselves at this stage, now and going forward we must do our best to provide a hospital in the best interests of the patients, staff and indeed all Islanders.’
