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Rehabilitation services could move again – this time from Samarès Ward at Overdale to a purpose-built centre at St. Ewolds off Trinity Hill.
Health Minister Karen Wilson told a Scrutiny Panel looking into the Government’s ‘New Healthcare Facilities Programme’ on Wednesday that it was unlikely that Samarès Ward – which reopened last August as part of a £2m programme of works – would be able to stay there during the demolition of buildings, which is due to begin this year.
She also revealed that her department was in discussions with St. Helier over the parish building a facility at St Ewolds.
Looking to the long term, rehabilitation services are earmarked for a new ‘Health Village’ to be built opposite St. Saviour’s Hospital.
Deputy Wilson said: “There is a questions as to whether or not Samarès Ward can remain at Overdale within the construction site.
"We’ve been actively working with the Parish of St Helier who have offered an option for us to work with. That proposal is being considered at the moment and the team have been to visit and their views as to whether that will be a suitable alternative in this period of time.
“I don’t think we can continue to maintain rehabilitation services at the Overdale site."
Pictured: Health Minister Karen Wilson at the reopening of Samarès Ward last August.
She added: “I think the key to this is that islanders need to know that patient services will not disappear but where we actually provide them, the same team will hopefully stay and be available to continue to provide that continuity of care.
“But we have to be realistic [and] be able to provide services in a place that is safe for people who will be in wheelchairs and mobilities of different kinds.
“Providing a service in a building site will not be appropriate so we have to find an alternative, in a way that we have done for the other services which are now at Les Quennevais.”
Panel chair Deputy Sam Mézec asked the Health Minister whether the discussions with St. Helier were at the point of agreement.
She replied that there was more of a process to go through because “we need to look at the financing of this and the affordability”.
She added: “One of the things that we wanted to do was to establish whether it was feasible as a clinical space to be able to offer something like that. The feedback that I have received is that there is quite a good level of support for the fact that it could be.”
Speaking to Express after the panel hearing, St. Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft confirmed that discussions had started after an initial offer from the parish. He stressed that it would be a new building and would not affect the existing residential home.
Pictured: St. Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft confirmed that discussions had started after an initial offer from the parish.
Although rehabilitation services are destined for a new ‘Health Village’, Deputy Wilson told the panel that she was focused on a two-site option – essentially, inpatient services at Overdale and outpatient services in Kensington Place / Gloucester Street – for now.
She said: “I think there have been a lot of people who have a view and opinion about what hospital facilities are but the programme work that has been done has outlined the potential for further facilities development and the concept of this Health Village has emerged as part of those discussions.
“My personal focus around this is to keep to the original specification around the two-site option and support the transition of the work that is going on to get Les Quennevais up and running.
“I think we need to revisit some the challenges around the affordability of extending the scheme to other areas until we’re really clear about the costs of the two-site option, which was original intention.”
Building a new outpatient / acute hospital at Overdale is the first stage of the phased healthcare programme, with the facility set to open by the end of 2027 / early 2028.
A significant step was recently completed with most services that were at Overdale moving to the Enid Quénault Health and Wellbeing Centre last month.
Pictured: The Enid Quenault Health and Wellbeing Centre recently opened at the former Les Quennevais School site.
The future of rehabilitation services – which is broadly helping stroke survivors and patients with other brain injuries to recover and support themselves – has been a contentious subject since the previous Government chose not to return them to Overdale after Samarès Ward was shut and then repurposed in April 2020 for islanders with covid.
Once the threat of large numbers of covid patients had receded, the Government chose to keep rehabilitation services at Plémont Ward at the General Hospital.
However, stroke survivors and their families complained of sub-standard facilities on Plémont, which led to a Government u-turn, with services returning to Samarès while a £2m upgrade of Plémont took place.
This plan was shelved by the new Government while it developed its own new-hospital programme. Although rehabilitation services did move back to Overdale, Plémont is now a flexible ward space.
If rehabilitation moves to St Ewolds, the Health Village – where rehabilitation and ‘step-down’ services will be based – is due to open in June 2028.
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