Ministers vote to reinstate rehabilitation services in Jersey

Rehabilitation services moved to Jersey's General Hospital in early 2020.

Jersey's government has voted to reinstate rehabilitation services at the hospital at Overdale or another suitable location.

The hospital's Samarès Ward, which used to offer services to people who have had a stroke or suffered a serious injury, closed in May 2020.

Since then the rehabilitation has been offered at Plemont Ward, in the island's General Hospital.

On Wednesday Jersey's States Assembly voted to fully reinstate the services.

The Health Minister committed to announcing by 1 March exactly where services will be offered.

Ministers voted in favour of the reinstatement with 45 votes for, 0 against.

The decision follows some heated discussion on the topic.

Senator Steve Pallett had called for the previous care facilities to be reinstated at either Samarès Ward or at "another suitable location".

Accusing the health minister and his senior team of "mismanagement", Senator Pallett said: "If allowing Samarès Ward to stay closed for so long is not a scandal of the highest order then I don't know what is, and we should be embarrassed to admit that we allowed this to happen under our watch."

Despite earlier this week saying it could not support the proposals, Health Minister, Deputy Richard Renouf, has now confirmed the government can "accept the request as it is worded".

The Samarès Ward is due to be demolished to make way for the island's new hospital.

Malcolm Ferey, from the brain injury charity Headway, said: "It's reinstating something that we should never have lost, now even if that is an interim measure, until a new building, or its moved somewhere else, that's fine as long as there is a proper rehabilitation facility."

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