Deputy John Gollop asked George Oswald about the prospects of relocating HSC staff from the Castel Hospital and King Edward VII sites.
Deputy Oswald said that HSC had 192 staff providing adult community services from the Castel site, including community nurses, the social care team, social workers, the rapid response team, palliative care and home health services. Another 20 staff are based at King Edward VII, including staff working electro and biomedical engineering, community services, support technicians and its transport team.
He said that interim works were carried out in staffing areas at the Castel Hospital in 2021 which significantly improved working conditions for staff on the site.
‘I have visited those offices with the previous committee, and actually the facilities down there for staff working there are actually totally acceptable at present time, albeit that we recognise that a long-term solution is required,’ he said.
Deputy Oswald said he was less happy with working conditions at the KEVII.
‘The King Edward site is very poor and to have a very important service located up there is not appropriate. Those services will be relocated as part of the hospital modernisation program, but clearly that’s going to take time,’ he said.
HSC has plans for a children’s services community hub at the former States offices in Burnt Lane, St Martin’s, but although the project is included within the States capital portfolio, it is not funded nor being actively worked on. This would ultimately free up four other sites currently used by HSC, which would then be sold or repurposed.