Consultants were asked by Health bosses to increase their private workload and reduce their public activity in order to generate income for the department, the Health Minister has revealed.
Deputy Tom Binet issued the statement following an Express report in which he described the island’s system allowing consultants to split their time between public and private patients as a “real dilemma” contributing to “unacceptable” waiting lists.
But he later emphasised that the shift towards more private work in recent months was not a decision made by consultants themselves, but a choice made by Health leadership in a bid to stabilise finances.
Deputy Binet told Express: “In recent times consultants have had to revert to pre-covid scheduling, which involves doing slightly more private work with a corresponding reduction in public work.
“This is because the health service required – and at the moment still requires – the additional income generated by private work to help reduce the deficit in the Health budget.”
He added: “I must also make it abundantly clear that this was not a decision taken by the consultants themselves but was at the request of the leadership team with my endorsement.”
The Health Minister explained that this is why the “reduction of waiting list times has risen to the top of our agenda for 2025”.
“Accordingly, I will be working with the senior leadership team and senior clinicians in the coming months to set clear targets and devise the means by which they are to be achieved,” added Deputy Binet.