HSC president Deputy George Oswald said his committee could just about live within its proposed allocation under the more generous Option B, but the lower figure would create a funding gap next year of up to £6m.
His amendment asked for an extra £6.1m. to be split roughly equally between his own committee budget and a ringfenced sum to be held in the central budget reserve to fund off-island treatment.
He warned that the formula which produced Option A included no provision for growth in demand, and, if supported, would lead to a £21m. shortfall in health spending by 2029.
Deputy Oswald said: ‘I am not shroud-waving but Option A, unamended, would lead to emergency department charges going up by at least 20% and there being no cash for any preventative services’.
The HSC president said his committee would not deliberately overspend if they ran short of money next year because that would be irresponsible.
Deputy Andy Sloan took a hard line on health spending, describing waiting lists as a way of rationing healthcare, and advised HSC to ‘just manage your budget’.
But Employment & Social Security president Tina Bury was supportive of Health’s bid for more cash.
‘I think there are some of our older generations who are used to us not providing as many services and say that perhaps we should go back there... Until you cut the service in the area they need,’ she said.
‘And everybody needs a service at some point. So I’m very happy to support this. It’s a critical service, especially for those least well off, and I would encourage other members to do so.’
Speaking for P&R, Deputy Steve Falla said the amendment just made Option A more like Option B and reduced choice.
He said if colleagues were worried about cuts to health services, then they should simply back Option B.
Deputy Oswald gave an example of the growth pressures facing his department. He told members the number of people using the emergency department had grown by 10,000 a year over the last decade.
But he promised that next year would see a major step change in work on producing a sustainable model of health funding for Guernsey.
He said work would start in earnest on the task in January, with a report produced by the end of next year. HSC’s amendment asking for extra cash for next year, if Option A is approved, was defeated by a single vote 16-17.
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