The number of people going to Guernsey’s Emergency Department increased by 21% between 2021 and 2024.
The current Health and Social Care President revealed the staggering statistic yesterday as he gave his final update to the States before the June election.
Deputy Al Brouard was elected HSC President in October 2020, reluctantly taking on the role when no one else was nominated.
Updating his political colleagues on the recent work carried out by his committee and HSC as a whole he confirmed the increased demand that is being experienced now compared to just a few years ago.
“As you all know, demand for health and social care provision is increasing and there will be continuous and considerable pressures to manage the provision of the necessary services within limited resources,” he said.
“By way of example, in 2024 there were 24,500 emergency department attendances which represents a 21% increase in attendances between 2021 and 2024 – that is just on our watch.”
Deputy Brouard used his update to also impress upon the States that HSC’s budget “is not out of control”.
“The pressure on the budget reflects the ongoing and increasing demand for health & social care services,” he said. “This in turn is driven by the demand for new drugs, acute care, better regulation and the Bailiwick’s changing demographics.
“Those Members who are looking for a quick fix or pretty soundbites need look elsewhere,” he added.
Deputy Brouard told that the States that: “Health and Social Care services will continue to need to expand and will continue to require increasing resources, as is reflected in other western economies. The real issue is who pays and what services are provided free at the point of access. I sincerely hope that we don’t get to a position where islanders will have few options for their care – demand is going to continue to rise, who pays is the question.”
He firmly believes that HSC has made “some real and tangible progress during this political term”.
Despite his initial reluctance to take on the role, he said it has been “a privilege” to serve on HSC.
He’ll be leaving the role happy with what’s been achieved in the hospital modernisation project he said.
HSC recently proposed splitting the second phase of the project into two to slow down the expensive being borne by the States.
Deputy Brouard said HSC is now refining its business case, and he thinks it will work out even better than planned this way.
“This is predominantly new build construction and will address key issues, including providing much needed additional theatre capacity, the development of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit/Special Care Baby Unit and improvements in maternity services, as well as improvements to wards and outpatient services.
“The Committee will bring this business case back to the Assembly later this year. While I wouldn’t have predicted this at the time, the phased approach to hospital modernisation will ultimately lead to better outcomes for both patients and clinicians.”
The second phase of the hospital modernisation is expected to cost £150m.
The estimate went up by around £30m before the States voted on the island’s capital prioritisation plan in 2023, but civil servants kept that information from the HSC committee and the wider States. The civil servants were later sacked.