CI public health cooperation to improve value for money

Monday 27 March 2023

Channel Island public health officials have pledged to work more closely together to save money and improve services.

The Directors of Public Health in Guernsey and Jersey are said to have already been meeting regularly in the last year and now a Public Health Alliance has been launched.

Its objectives are:

• share best practice, experience and learning to improve efficiency.

• act as critical friends to improve the quality of public health approaches.

• jointly commission work to increase value for money.

• jointly develop training opportunities across the islands.

• share resources to improve efficiency.

• expand sources of knowledge on public health matters.

Members of both Public Health Teams are meeting in-person and virtually tomorrow.

They will be discussing programmes of mutual interest, including recent health intelligence data, reports from both islands and public health practitioner training.

Dr Nicola Brink, Guernsey’s Director of Public Health, said:

“I welcome this initiative wholeheartedly. This shared expertise will enable us to provide mutual challenge and support with regard to our Public Health programmes to ensure islanders across the Channel Islands get the benefit of our pooled expertise.”

Professor Peter Bradley, Jersey’s Director of Public Health, said:

“I am pleased that we are able to launch this much needed alliance and I am looking forward to working more closely with our Guernsey counterparts to ensure our populations are supported in their health and wellbeing.”

Multiple attempts have been made to get Guernsey and Jersey working more closely together, but little progress has been evident.

They included the signing of a memorandum of understanding in health care in 2018.

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Focus: A decade of two islands (occasionally) working together