Political point scoring as Guernsey's ED charges go viral again

Wednesday 04 December 2019

A photo of Guernsey's Emergency Department charges, which has already gone viral once, is being shared again - this time by voters in the UK anxious not to see Boris Johnson's Conservatives re-elected.

The political point-scoring appears to have been started by a man who shared the image earlier this week - only to see it then re-posted by thousands of other people, who all believed his claims that Guernsey's accident and emergency charges would be extended "across the rest of the UK".

Initially the pictured was shared on Twitter earlier this year by a mum who lives in the island, with her family. At that time it went 'viral' as thousands of people living overseas realised that Guernsey isn't part of the UK or EU, and doesn't have the NHS.

Pictured: The initial tweet by Zoe Andrews was shared in June. 

After the initial tweet was shared, Express saw it had been retweeted by thousands. Since then, the picture has been retweeted by even more people, yesterday reaching 14 thousand retweets while it had been liked by more than 17 thousand.

Having gone quiet for the few months since it was first tweeted, that picture has been picked up again by a number of people apparently based in the UK - who are using it as an example of the Conservative Party's supposed plans to sell off or privatise the National Health Service.

Although no formal plans have been produced, fears over the future of the NHS have been circulating for many years. Even Donald Trump was asked to comment during his visit to the UK yesterday, where he said he does not want the USA to get involved with the NHS in any post-Brexit trade talks. 

Pictured: Donald Trump has said he has no plans for the NHS to be privatised in a deal with the USA.

The growing concerns over supposed plans to commercialise the NHS were sparked by Mr Trump himself, when he said earlier this year:

“When you’re dealing in trade, everything is on the table – so NHS or anything else, a lot more than that, but everything will be on the table, absolutely.” 

But he later performed a U-turn amid a public outcry, to say that he does not see it as being “part of trade”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn published a letter to Mr Trump on Monday night in which he asked for “reassurances” that US negotiators would not look to push up UK medicine prices by seeking access to the NHS for major American pharmaceutical companies.

His party has repeatedly claimed that the health service is “on the table” in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.

That message has since been picked up by members of the public in the UK who have been sharing the picture first tweeted by Ms Andrews in June. 

A recurring theme amongst those sharing it now, is that Boris Johnson wants to extend charges seen at the Emergency Department in Guernsey 'to other parts of the UK' or that 'the NHS could be privatised like it has been in Guernsey already'

Guernsey is not part of the UK and its independent health service is controlled by the Committee for Health and Social Care, which sets fees for use based on contracts with its partners including GP surgeries and the Medical Specialist Group.

The charges residents and visitors pay are all displayed at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, where the island's Emergency Department is, and on the States of Guernsey's website.