Health vice-president resigns citing ‘little appetite for change’
Health & Social Care’s vice-president has resigned due to the way the committee has been handling some of its challenges.
Deputy Tina Bury handed in her resignation yesterday, after more than three years in the post.
In her letter to HSC president Al Brouard, she said she was handing in her resignation with regret.
‘You will be aware that the way the department handles some of the various challenges it faces hasn’t sat comfortably with me and my personal values for quite some time,’ she said.
‘Despite my best efforts within the committee, I have seen little appetite for change in some areas.
‘With that in mind, and at this stage in the political term, I believe there is no benefit me continuing in the hope that things might improve.’
Deputy Brouard thanked Deputy Bury for her work.
‘Health & Social Care is certainly a very challenging committee, perhaps the most challenging in the States, where we deal with very emotive issues and it feels like we are faced with a never-ending supply of difficult decisions to make, which can be uncomfortable at times,’ he said in response to the resignation.
Deputy Bury was elected to be Deputy Brouard’s second in command in October 2020, with Deputy Brouard at the time stating that his committee will bring a fresh perspective to health and social care and ‘Tina epitomises that new approach’.
Since then the committee has faced an uphill fight to get funding for the next phase of the hospital modernisation programme, while also struggling with waiting lists and recruiting staff.
Deputy Bury did not elaborate on which challenges she was referring to.
She stood for election in 2020 as a single mum representing hard-working families.
She has faced some disruption during the States term due to personal issues and she thanked colleagues for their support, understanding and reasonable adjustments made to accommodate some of her personal circumstances.
‘While these personal factors have shaped my perspective, they are not the primary driver of my decision to resign,’ she said in her letter to Deputy Brouard.
‘With a little over a year left of this political term, I believe I will be able to make a more positive impact for the Bailiwick by focusing my efforts on my work in the Committee for Employment & Social Security, and the various sub-groups I am on within that mandate, as well as on wider States business.’
The remaining committee is made up of deputies Marc Leadbeater and Aidan Matthews, with Alderney representative Alex Snowdon.
