"Can we do Orthopaedic Surgery here, and they do [another] kind of surgery there? Therefore, we don't need [certain] facilities here? But they need to be there and vice versa? That to me is the kind of conversation we should be having.” 

An £800million ‘health campus’ plan was recently scrapped in Jersey, leaving the island waiting – potentially until 2031 – for a new hospital. The cost of which has increased by another £28million. 

Similarly, in Guernsey, the future of the island’s hospital modernisation project has been put in jeapordy by Deputy Ferbrache’s committee, which has proposed dropping the second stage of the project until after this term, in favour of finishing the Education Programme.  

This leaves people in both islands with ageing buildings that are lacking the required space to support them. Health provision is also the biggest cost to the Guernsey taxpayer and Deputy Ferbrache expects it’s the same in Jersey. 

When asked if sharing resources is the way to go, Deputy Ferbrache said: “There are opportunities [for joint working].” 

He said he had a good relationship with the previous Jersey administration, but admitted that joint working schemes have always been talked about, “but never really happen”. 

He said: “The intent is do things with them, as to what we're going to do, and how we do it, that's still to be discussed. But I think we've got that intention. We've been busy at the moment, and they've been busy. But what we mustn't do, and they mustn't do is be too busy to talk to each other.  

“We've had some conversations; we're going to have some more.”