Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital wards reviewed

Wards at Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital could undergo a radical overhaul under a new review.

The Health and Social Services Department made the decision after asbestos was removed from the Ozanne Ward in the hospital.

Clearing the toxic substance uncovered other problems, such as poor electrics, it said.

The additional work is expected to take at least nine months to complete and cost an extra £1m.

The department has decided to perform what it has called a "re-profiling" of the Ozanne, Giffard, Loveridge and Frossard wards and the Victoria Wing.

It also plans to review the capacity of the day patient unit and the accident and emergency department.

The department said "re-profiling" meant reviewing the configuration and the quality of the facilities in order to better meet patients' needs.

It added that the process would not be cheap and it would be bidding for funding to carry out the work in the forthcoming capital prioritisation process.

Minister Hunter Adam said: "The alternative would be to spend £1m on producing something exactly the same as it was and we think that would be a waste of money."