France could provide emergency medical support to Channel Islands

Thursday 26 September 2024

Guernsey and Jersey residents could be taken to France for emergency medical treatment in cases when transport to the UK is unavailable, if a support agreement is formalised.

Representatives from France and Guernsey were due to visit Jersey this month to start identifying the requirements for a formal arrangement to support bilateral resilience around health and social care.

According to a report presented at the meeting of Jersey's Health Advisory Board this morning, the aim is to ratify emergency support with France in case the Channel Islands are unable to transport patients to the UK – for example, due to adverse weather conditions or unavailability of transport to the UK.

The report provided an update on joint working activities between Jersey and Guernsey by the Channel Island Alliance for Health and Social Care.

Pictured: Jersey has shared details of its ophthalmology waiting list initiative – which sends local patients to be treated at a specialist facility in the UK – with Guernsey.

According to the update, Jersey has shared details of its ophthalmology waiting list initiative – which sends local patients to be treated at a specialist facility in the UK – with Guernsey.

As a result, staff in Guernsey are now working on launching a similar initiative later this year with the same provider to shorten wait times for Guernsey patients. 

Meanwhile, Jersey is set to replicate a Nurse Associate training programme which currently runs in Guernsey in collaboration with a UK university.

The Channel Island Alliance for Health and Social Care report noted several more worthwhile areas for collaboration between the Channel Islands, including on policies and legislation surrounding vaping and alcohol usage.

Pictured: The Health Alliance is sharing strategies on vaping across Guernsey and Jersey.

Health policy officers in both islands have agreed to remain in close contact to discuss all new policy initiatives, and have committed to 'future proofing' new legislation where appropriate.

Going forward, officers will ensure that new legislation is written in a way that ensure it can be adopted easily, either in whole or in part, across both islands.

Bella Farrell, CEO of Guernsey charity Health Connections and Chair of CareWatch, said: "I'm really supportive of inter-island collaboration and hope to see much more of this as our health services respond to meeting the healthcare needs of our community."