The Chief Minister has published a report on the next steps for developing a new hospital. The report sets out the process for establishing the clinical requirements of the new hospital, shortlisting potential locations and agreeing a site after public engagement.
Senator John Le Fondré said: “In considering these new proposals, I have sought the views of States Members and advice from senior officials. We plan to draw on any relevant information already gathered by the previous project team, and to take account of more recent developments in Jersey’s health care model.
“We will create new governance and oversight arrangements, which will ensure appropriate political leadership, scrutiny and sign-off, without incurring intractable delays in delivering this crucial infrastructure.”
A new hospital project director will be appointed, with appropriate resources, to develop an Outline Business Case. This will be followed by a draft planning submission, which will be ready in time for the new Island Plan.
Senator Le Fondré added: “Working with the Environment Minister, we will establish a proper ‘public interest test’, to ensure that appropriate weight is given to the sometimes competing interests involved in determining site selection. We will also ensure that the new Island Plan specifically allows for the designation of a new hospital.
“The proposed timeline is ambitious, but if we all get behind the process it should be possible to deliver this within 20 months. If we all agree that this is a priority and work together, we can then deliver a completed hospital in a similar timescale to that of the previous scheme.”
Senator Le Fondré concludes his report by explaining how the lessons learned from the experience of the past few years will inform the new process. He said that this project would be more inclusive by involving States Members and engaging islanders through citizens’ panels. The project team will bring a construction partner in earlier on, to save costs, and current health care delivery will be reviewed to ensure the clinical requirements of a new hospital take account of changes in working methods since they were originally scoped in 2012.