HSC tries to win support to continue with work at PEH

As part of its drive to reduce capital spending, Policy & Resources has suggested putting phase two of the development onto the back burner, while recommending that work on the future of secondary education progress.

‘We were able to advise members of all the details of the programme and what phase two will bring,’ said HSC president Al Brouard.

The meeting at the weekend also gave members the chance to talk to doctors and consultants about the project and how it could affect recruitment and the facilities in which they work.

‘It also highlighted some of the risks we run in the island,’ said Deputy Brouard.

‘Over the years, medical practice changes, and there are changes we need to make.’

Access to the Emergency Department was among those that needed to be addressed.

‘We also gave the opportunity for States members to walk around the existing campus.’

Deputy Brouard said that an amendment would probably be brought to the proposals once they were published, but until that report appeared, he said he hoped that P&R would change its mind over its list of priorities.

The committee had said that its list was based on its initial thoughts.

‘We’re obviously hoping that we will be able to persuade them to reconsider that initial position,’ Deputy Brouard said.

‘We think it would be a missed opportunity not to continue from phase one to phase two.’

The project may be forced to return to the States after it emerged that the costs for the future phases are expected to be more than £100m. – more than double what was approved by the Assembly in 2019.