St Pier to challenge health authorities ‘from the inside’
Deputy Gavin St Pier has vowed to continue challenging health authorities ‘from the inside’, following his election to Health & Social Care on Wednesday.
The former Policy & Resources president was chosen to replace HSC vice-president Tina Bury, who resigned citing concerns about transparency following a £30m. hike in the anticipated maximum budget for phase two of the hospital modernisation programme.
Deputy St Pier beat Deputy Mark Helyar, former Policy & Resources treasury lead, who was the choice of the HSC committee, by 21 votes to 17.
Deputy St Pier said there was widespread acceptance of the need for change but ‘a very clear transformation programme’ was badly needed in the context of an ‘inexorable rise in demand’.
‘Much of the work and thinking has already been done but we need to draw it into a plan,’ he said.
‘We’re not going to be able to change everything in a year, clearly, but we need to start down that road.’
A priority would be to provide ‘much greater political oversight in the capital programme of the committee’s work, particularly on the hospital project,’ he said.
‘Just because I’m on the inside of the committee does not mean I’m going to stop challenging and that may be uncomfortable at times for all involved – including the officers and those interacting with HSC as their contracted partners.’
Deputy St Pier said he had become better informed about health issues due to the case work that had come his way while serving, effectively, as a back bencher for the first three years of this States term.
His challenges to HSC on safeguarding issues have led to some combative exchanges with Deputy Brouard in the Assembly and code of conduct and complaints, still subject to appeal.
Deputy St Pier said none of this would cause problems when he came to take his seat on the committee. Deputy Brouard served in Deputy St Pier’s P&R Committee and was elected when not the committee’s nomination.
‘When I met the committee earlier this week, I made it very clear that while they may feel that they’ve been kicked a bit by me, actually many other committees may feel the same – Education, Home and P&R have all been subject to questions and challenge by me because that’s the role that I’ve adopted this term.’
But he said such challenges were ‘never personal’ and it was ‘always about the issues’.
