What was the cost of Health rebrand?
I UNDERSTAND that the Health and Social Services Department now has a new title of Health & Social Care. Could someone please tell me why it was necessary to change this to Health & Social Care? We are living in a time when cuts are being made and clearly health is struggling at this time.
Could someone please tell me what the financial cost of this exercise has been to the taxpayers in the island? We have a right to know.
Forgive me for being a pain in the neck but when you hear that the Bowel Cancer Screening programme has been put on hold or worse and you see the good-hearted people of Guernsey madly holding events to pay for medical treatment in cases where the States won't help, it does rather rile me.
I ask that Heidi Soulsby, the president of Health and Social Care, kindly gives us an answer.
NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD
Editor's footnote: a States of Guernsey spokesperson replies:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond. On 1 May this year the structure of our government changed from the previous system of 10 departments to a committee system made up of the Policy & Resources Committee plus six principal committees – the Committee for Health & Social Care being one.
This change was a result of the work of the States Review Committee and the subsequent decisions made by the States of Deliberation in 2015.
The rebrand was completed in-house, which resulted in a significant reduction in the overall cost.
Had it been necessary to outsource the work, a rebrand of this scale would have likely cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Costs that were incurred as a result of the changes are as follows: £78,000 to replace primary signage at 20 States of Guernsey sites, £70,000 to adapt IT systems and £14,000 for letterheads, appointment cards, business cards and other printed items.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby, president of Health & Social Care, added:
The committee are routinely required to make very difficult choices about what services are viable, and what are not viable, to provide through public funds. There is continuous pressure to provide comprehensive services and the committee are regularly making very difficult decisions balancing demand and available funding.
The Bowel Cancer Screening programme has not been put on hold as a result of funding cuts – indeed the funding for this screening programme is ring-fenced.
Health & Social Care is actively trying to recruit a gastroenterologist to provide this service.
