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The Hospital faces a recruitment crisis and should offer new incentives to retain and attract staff, according to a report by States backbenchers.
A Scrutiny Panel recommends that Health give nurses longer holidays, there should be more collaboration with Guernsey and the partners of imported medical staff should bypass the five-year rule.
Other recommendations made by the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel include recruiting more staff from Poland, Madeira and Portugal, introducing a retention bonus to reward long service and exploring the feasibility of introducing financial incentives to attract more staff from around the world.
Panel chairman Deputy Richard Renouf said: “During the review we found several factors which may deter hospital staff considering relocating to Jersey. One of these factors was the high cost of living. If we are to resolve recruitment issues, the issue of pay levels that are appropriate to higher costs of living in Jersey must be addressed.”
"Recruitment and retention difficulties have been a global issue for some time and the same difficulties are faced elsewhere and not just in Jersey. The fact that Jersey is a small Island is also a factor in the workforce challenge. Even though geographical isolation means that providing a significant level of hospital services locally is essential, it also means that maintaining specialist skills can be difficult due to low patient volumes.
"The Panel has concluded that the States of Jersey has a real challenge to plan and sustain the supply and demand of future health staff, particularly the nursing workforce, at a time of financial constraint. Improved working environments and changes to staff terms and conditions will be key in recruiting and retaining clinical staff in the future."
The report will now be considered by Health.
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