Ambulance costs covered by tax, islanders told

Ambulances in Alderney are paid for through local taxes, the service have said

Islanders living in Alderney do not have to take a subscription for ambulance services, the Guernsey ambulance service has said.

The reminder follows the launch of the 2026 subscription scheme in Guernsey after the Ambulance and Rescue Service found that one in four people without one used its services in 2024.

Ambulances in Alderney are paid for through local taxes unlike Guernsey where charges and subscriptions apply, it said.

The service said Alderney islanders were also covered for ambulance call outs when visiting other islands and for use of the Flying Christine III marine ambulance.

Chief Ambulance Officer Mark Mapp said it continued to provided a full time professional ambulance service in Alderney.

He said: "Alderney operates under a different funding model to Guernsey, which means when someone calls an ambulance in Alderney the costs are covered directly by the States of Alderney, through the tax system.

"I know that previously, when the service was purely a voluntary one, people in Alderney were encouraged to donate to cover the operating costs - that changed when Ambulance and Rescue took on the professional operation."