Health chiefs have promised “greater accountability” and more “transparency” over waiting lists despite plans to scrap annual healthcare performance reports.
Deputy George Oswald, President of Health and Social Care (HSC), told Express “proactive reporting” from the troubled Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system would provide “better data” from 2027 onwards.
However, despite the promise of future transparency, HSC did not answer our other questions about why it is giving itself longer to respond to complaints, and how changes to the planned hospital extension could affect future surgical capacity and waiting times.
Deputy Oswald’s comments came after Express revealed that people were spending more time stuck on waiting lists than at any time since reporting began in 2018, with just 61% of people treated within HSC’s target timeframes.
“The 2025 KPI report for the Secondary Healthcare Contract did not include any big surprises for the Committee,” Deputy Oswald said.
“As is clear from the data, high waiting times remain an issue and reducing them remains a priority for us.
“We understand that waiting a long time for an appointment or admission can be frustrating for patients and their families and, alongside the Medical Specialist Group, we are continually working behind the scenes to make improvements within existing budgets.”
Deputy Oswald pointed to progress in gastroenterology, where waiting lists have been reviewed and some patients redirected to alternative diagnostic services.
“Reviewing waiting lists and redirecting patients to other diagnostic services that better meet their needs has proven to be effective for gastroenterology waiting lists so far, and it is the intention to work through the largest and longest waiting lists using the same principles,” he said.
But he also acknowledged there were limits to what could be achieved without spending more money.
“Of course, there are limits to what can be done to reduce waiting lists without significant financial investment, and the Committee continues to look at its options in this area, while also being very conscious of the current financial climate.”
Greater accountability?
The latest Secondary Healthcare Contract report is expected to be the final annual KPI snapshot in its current format, with HSC planning to move towards digital reporting once the EPR system is fully embedded.
Deputy Oswald insisted the change would improve transparency rather than reduce it.
“Going forwards, we are committed to increasing the transparency around waiting list figures and other measures relevant to the Secondary Healthcare contract,” he said.
“Once the Electronic Patient Record system is fully embedded, better data will become available through proactive reporting beginning in 2027, and the Committee welcomes this to enable greater accountability of health and social care services in the Bailiwick.”
However, Deputy Oswald did not indicate whether the public and media would have direct access to the new digital dashboards when they are introduced next year.
He also stressed that the latest figures are already several months out of date, making them less representative of the current situation.
“It is important to note that the data in the most recent Secondary Healthcare Contract KPI Report relates to 2025 and is therefore already some months out of date, so work done to reduce these figures in the last eight months will not be visible in the report.”
Full response
We asked HSC:
We’ve been looking over the figures since 2018.
They seem to show that elective wait time compliance has dropped to 61% (and 57% for elective inpatient admissions), marking an all-time low since standard tracking under the contract began in 2018.
We would appreciate a statement responding to the following specific points:
- Worsening Waiting Times: What is HSC’s response to overall elective waiting time performance dropping to 61% (and 57% for inpatient surgery), compared to 80% when the contract began in 2018? What immediate steps are being taken to reduce the backlogs for islanders waiting for planned operations and specialist care?
- Complaints Resolution Window: Formal complaints rose by 27% in 2025, while the percentage resolved within the 20-day target fell to 57%. Why has HSC chosen to extend the target resolution window to 30 operational days from 2026 rather than deploying additional resources to meet the existing 20-day target?
- Scrapping Annual KPI Snapshot Reports: 2025 marks the final annual snapshot KPI report in this format. Can HSC assure the public that the move to continuous reporting in 2027 under the new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system will maintain the same level of public accountability and transparency regarding waiting list figures?
- Hospital Modernisation (OHM) Budget Overrun: The report notes that Phase 2A of the hospital modernisation is “not affordable” as cost estimates are many tens of millions above the agreed £130m budget. How will this scope reduction impact long-term surgical capacity and future wait times?
HSC replied:
Please see below a statement from Deputy George Oswald, HSC President, written with your questions in mind.
“The 2025 KPI report for the Secondary Healthcare Contract did not include any big surprises for the Committee. As is clear from the data, high waiting times remain an issue and reducing them remains a priority for us. We understand that waiting a long time for an appointment or admission can be frustrating for patients and their families, and alongside the Medical Specialist Group, we are continually working behind the scenes to make improvements within existing budgets. Reviewing waiting lists and redirecting patients to other diagnostic services that better meet their needs has proven to be effective for gastroenterology waiting lists so far, and it is the intention to work through the largest and longest waiting lists using the same principles.
“Of course, there are limits to what can be done to reduce waiting lists without significant financial investment, and the Committee continues to look at its options in this area, while also being very conscious of the current financial climate.
“Going forwards, we are committed to increasing the transparency around waiting list figures and other measures relevant to the Secondary Healthcare contract. Once the Electronic Patient Record system is fully embedded, better data will become available through proactive reporting beginning in 2027, and the Committee welcomes this to enable greater accountability of health and social care services in the Bailiwick.
“It is important to note that the data in the most recent Secondary Healthcare Contract KPI Report relates to 2025 and is therefore already some months out of date, so work done to reduce these figures in the last eight months will not be visible in the report.”
