Friday 20 September 2024
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Health Minister's prescription: A new type of CEO for Health?

Health Minister's prescription: A new type of CEO for Health?

Friday 20 September 2024

Health Minister's prescription: A new type of CEO for Health?

Friday 20 September 2024


A Chief Executive for Health could be appointed in future to take charge of Jersey's "entire health service" – including GPs and the third sector.

The Health Minister said yesterday that he would like to see a new leader take charge of "a sort of holistic, single, seamless, integrated health service".

Deputy Tom Binet's comments came yesterday as he was grilled by the panel of politicians responsible for scrutinising Health over his vision of a unified health system announced at a public meeting in July.

He told the panel that he had "made some observations" about the department during his eight months as Health Minister and that plans for a new structure were in the works.

He explained: "[At] one of the meetings recently, I said to the people we're talking to: 'If you were designing a health service, would you design the one that we've got now?'.

"And the answer, I think unanimously, was 'no'. So I think that leads us to suggest that it might be time for a review."

Tom_Binet.jpg

Pictured: Deputy Tom Binet, the Health Minister, said he had come to the conclusion that significant changes were needed following his eight months in post.

Asked about any particular roles he would like to change, he said: "I think the overarching difference at the moment is that what I'd like to see is somebody as a Chief Executive of an entire health service, rather than just HCS. And the terms of reference would be to provide a sort of holistic, single, seamless, integrated health service."

He added that the position could be filled by the person running the department currently, or by "somebody who also works as a coordinator at that level".

They would "reflect the composition of Health", drawing in public health, the Health Department, primary care and the charitable sector.

He pointed in particular to GPs, who went ten years without an uplift in their subsidy – which put increasing costs on the patient.

"The interaction between the various parties is sometimes a bit fractured," he added.

It comes following a series of damning reports about the current operations of Health, which is currently seeking to address significant financial issues.

At July's event, Deputy Binet summarised the key issues as being a lack of progressive governance, entrenched cultural problems, poor relations between management and consultants, and financial mismanagement leading to a £24 million annual funding shortfall.

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