Jersey Care Model unveiled by government

A major reform of health services in Jersey is being proposed by the island's Government.

As previously reported by ITV News, the Jersey Care Model project will aim to use health hubs as a way of decentralising care from the island's hospital and instead put more focus on community care and the use of voluntary and charitable services.

Analysis found that around 30,000 patients visited the Emergency Department for cases that weren’t emergencies. The hospital saw at least 40,000 outpatient visits to treat long-term conditions which could have been better managed by GPs.

By putting more emphasis on community-based care, the government hopes it can help manage the growing healthcare demands of the island's ageing population.

One proposal for this is the use of ‘Rapid Response and Reablement’, where islanders can receive treatment in their own homes or another community setting to reduce the strain on the hospital.

The plans mean there could be 80 fewer beds in Jersey's new hospital.

Services such as emergency department, maternity, intensive care and urgent treatment will remain at the hospital and the Health and Community Services department hopes to bring more care into hospitals which is currently provided in the UK.

The department for Health and Social Care says it is developing new ways of commissioning and paying for services, so that services are accessible and affordable for Islanders.