Health needs £8m. more just to maintain services

PATIENTS could be charged for some services as Health faces an estimated £8m. budget shortfall, it was revealed yesterday.

That amount would merely maintain current levels next year. No significant improvements could be introduced without charging.

Previous reports that had looked into the option of patients paying for pathology, radiology or accident and emergency services could now be dusted off and re-examined.

Health minister Hunter Adam announced the bombshell during question time at yesterday’s States meeting. He was being quizzed about whether the department should do more to maximise income from private patients.

At lunchtime he told the Guernsey Press that the indication from Treasury was that it would recommend his department got around £100m. in total to spend next year to cover items such as staff costs and routine capital.

One major factor in the shortfall was that the department had used about £2.3m. left over from previous years in its budget this year.

‘Every director is looking at their services and what, if any, cuts could be made, cost efficiencies made and unfortunately there will be no significant service developments over the next year,’ said Deputy Adam.

Health had around £1.4m.-worth of service developments that it was prioritising, including colorectal screening and extending breast cancer screening to 45-year-olds. (from thisisguernsey)


Looks like the once free health service is going to be no more...

When are ALL the States Depts going to realise that they cannot continue to expand in the current climate.If necessary cut some of their services.We must all take a little pain now or risk a hugely indepted future.

The day is drawing nearer when failure to provide health insurance will mean no treatment. Just like the USA.

looks like we are heading back to the previous health system in guernsey.have to pay for operations and have to pay full price for all drugs supplied on prescription.

How much is spent on staff? What portion is spent on recruiting staff from other countries on short term posts due to a lack of housing licences? Is money being needlessly wasted due to various States departments not getting together to resolve staffing / housing issues?

If it is anything like the UK NHS, how many administrators and senior staff are employed and do they actually add value to the whole thing? Would we be better off with fewer bosses and more workers?


.

In Guernsey You pay next to nothing for health care and then bitch about it..............You get what you pay for.........Google what other countries pay for health care......... :x before you come back with a stupid replay.

Now now Alpbach..... !!

What's

a stupid replay

??



.

Wait and see Dell...............

I'm waiting ........





.

Albach1 has an interesting attitude. Dell is closer to the truth. I suggest Albach1 that the Guernsey people pay for health care through their taxes. Dell is right, is the money spent correctly ? are the correct checks and balances in place regarding expenditure.

Correct me if I am wrong but Guernsey was clever enough to have a report commisioned on your administration and it was found to be costly, badly run and wastefull. Did the consultants also look at the admin. of your health service ?

As a very rough rule of thumb the lakelands Cumbria area health trust has a £220.million pound budget for 320,000 people. Jersey has a massive budget of £155. million for 95,000 people and guess what, Jersey hospital always has its hand out for more money, and charges for x-rays and extras. Human nature, no accountabilty, no efficient use of resources.

Guernsey politicians if they are doing the job right will make sure that the people are getting good value for money before thinking of asking for more. Laws are easy to pass more difficult to bin.

Boatyboy.

What taxes? no vat.........very low income tax.......petrol is very cheap........even fags are cheap.etc...etc......... :Rant2:

You can tell Alpbach1 does not actually live here

fags are nearly £5.00 for 20.petrol ranges from 77.9 a litre to 85p a litre.income tax we have had freezes on for the last three years,no loan relief,insurance relief now.vat is not taken off by uk chains and we pay a premium for freightage in some shops.so maybe not so cheap to live here now

I cannot add anything to that Wayside and Thistle - I think you got it covered.....and it is mooted that when GST does come in it will start at 6%.....Electricity went up 17% and the company (which I thought was Guernsey plc) say they are running at a loss - so guess what for the hike come winter....

If they 'pulled their socks up' and did well by us the taxpayer - who would the next government blame for everything???

Thistle wrote:fags are nearly £5.00 for 20.petrol ranges from 77.9 a litre to 85p a litre.income tax we have had freezes on for the last three years,no loan relief,insurance relief now.vat is not taken off by uk chains and we pay a premium for freightage in some shops.so maybe not so cheap to live here now

UK chains may not take off VAT but it is still TAX FREE.................You still pay very little income tax............fags and petrol are still more expensive everywhere else..............You are still missing the point .....Heath care costs a lot of money.....Guernsey is still a tax haven. or tax heaven if you like that better...so if you want better heath care pay more like other countries and stop bitching about it.......



Wayside..........you are so right I don't live in Guernsey any more but I still have Guernsey blood running though my veins................can you say the same?

Well not that I see what your point is but I suppose I do have Guernsey Blood running through my veins as my mother was born in Guernsey as were her mother, grand mother and many generations before her makes me quite local, and I have lived here for the past 46 years so is that not local enough for you.

costs me £38 to see my doctor plus a £21 charge for a blood test.about £150 for a one way trip in an ambulance.any tests carried out at the surgery is chargeable as is a&e at the peh.a smear test is £75 if carried out by a doctor cant remember what it is if the nurse does it seem to think about £40.i dont want the island to go back to paying full cost for operations.maybe treasury should be admitting that 0/10 was totally flawed and now look at 0/20 from the beginning of 2010.there will then be more money in the pot

Certainly an emotive subject!

One has to wonder if the other States Departments have similiar money problems, if they are more prudent and therefore less wasteful, or have they previously 'over-egged' their budget requests and are only now slightly having to pull in their wasteful previous years?

What do you think?




.

There is no point in getting good information unless the leaders (Politian’s) grab the nettle and bring accountability and efficiency to spending the taxpayers money. This goes hand in hand with good governance.
Mr Swinson’s report was researched and compiled against a background of promised States economies and cost-savings. Those promised savings are, in fact, part of the very foundation of the plan to mitigate the
effects of forecast shortfalls in revenue in coming years.

Sadly, it is hard to appreciate how effective savings programmes can be followed through if financial controls are so fuzzy that no one really understands fully which funds are being applied to which purposes

Mr Swinson has spoken and attention must now be paid to what he has said. States departments, and in particular their senior staff, clearly have a role to play in tightening up deficient financial control. It is, however, to States Members, and particularly the Council of Ministers, that we must look for the firm guiding hand which will be necessary if the
impression of ruthless efficiency which they are so eager to project is to be
transformed from fantasy into fact

http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/07/06/controls-on-states-spending/

Boatyboy.

Thistle.......150 pounds is a lot of money for an ambulance but my point is other countries
still pay much more .... a helicopter ambulance in Austria will cost thousands of pounds even though we pay double for our heath care.....You already have told us that you were brought back to life....How can you put a price on that? Health care in Guerney is excellent and the doctors and staff work often long and hard hours.....show a little good will......................

alpbach1, the issue is that islanders pay taxes to a central pot, out of this pot services including health are taking thier cut.

You say other countries, we all know about America if thats what you mean but other countries is a broad statement, a generalisation.

Prove in figures and facts from other countries that Guernsey tax payers and the budget for the hospital is poor per head of population, while the efficency in the hospital spending is professional and the best that they can do, otherwise all you are giving us is hearsay.

Boatyboy.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_hea_car_fun_tot_per_cap-care-funding-total-per-capita

At the start I said ''Google''..above is for people who can't understand this simple task.