Any delays to new Jersey hospital will cost lives, Doctor says

Ministers are reviewing the new hospital scheme to see if they can find a "more affordable" alternative

Any delay to building Jersey's new hospital "will cost lives", a senior consultant has said.

Ministers are reviewing the scheme to try to find a "more affordable" alternative for a new hospital.

They have said any change to the current plans would not affect "the required timescale" for the build - currently due to be completed by 2026.

Dr David Ng said: "We will lose lives because the hospital is not fit for purpose."

He continued: "Not because the health care is poor, it's because there's not enough beds and facilities."

Mr Ng said it would be "undemocratic" if current plans were reconsidered.

Jersey's former planning minister John Young approved plans for the Overdale development before the new government was formed.

Mr Young said there could "be years of delay" if the government chose a new location.

"Personally, I would have hoped that finding alternative financing and a way of doing things differently might have been a way of avoiding those deliveries so we could still have hospital, but look at the other ways of funding it," he said.

A review of the project is under way, with findings set to be presented to the States Assembly in October.

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