A petition calling for air conditioning throughout Jersey General Hospital has reinforced the need to deliver the Island’s new Acute Hospital at Overdale, the Health Minister has said.
Responding to the petition, which has attracted more than 2,600 signatures, Senator Tom Binet said there was “only so much that can be achieved through temporary measures and adaptations to ageing infrastructure”.
He said the existing General Hospital “was not designed for the demands of modern healthcare or the realities of a changing climate”, adding that the long-term solution was the delivery of modern healthcare facilities.
“The new Acute Hospital has been designed with the future firmly in mind, including the need to respond to rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events,” he said.
“It will incorporate modern ventilation, cooling and environmental control systems from the outset, providing a healthcare environment that is safer, more comfortable and more resilient for patients, visitors and staff.”
The existing General Hospital has served Islanders well for many years, but it was not designed for the demands of modern healthcare or the realities of a changing climate.
hEALTH MINISTER TOM BINET
The minister said concerns raised during the Island’s second heatwave of the year were “entirely understandable”, but rejected suggestions that the Hospital was operating in an unsafe environment.
“I recognise concerns about high temperatures and while hospital-wide air conditioning is not feasible, a range of measures are in place to maintain the safety and wellbeing of patients and staff,” he said.
Senator Binet said he had visited wards during the recent hot weather and had seen “a committed and professional workforce taking practical steps to protect patients, manage the impact of high temperatures, and maintain safe, high-quality care”.
He acknowledged that the Hospital’s ageing buildings were never designed to cope with the increasingly frequent periods of extreme heat now being experienced.
While Health and Care Jersey has deployed portable air-conditioning units, installed a replacement chiller to keep operating theatres functioning safely, and provided measures including cold drinks, ice and ice lollies, the minister said installing air conditioning throughout the existing Hospital was “simply not possible, now or in the future”.
He said the limitations were caused by factors including the age of the buildings, lack of space for modern ventilation systems, electrical capacity, planning requirements and infection-control constraints.
Senator Binet added that Health and Care Jersey would continue to make practical improvements within the existing estate, particularly in higher-risk inpatient areas, while work progresses on the new healthcare facilities programme.
