If it's not broke, our government breaks it
HERE we go again. The Guernsey government have taken on something else and are doing their best to destroy it under their policy of 'if it's not broke, break it'. They have now taken over the A&E department and, as is the norm with our government, they are charging more and giving less for our money. For those people who have managed to go without things throughout the year to put a bit aside to pay for the medipack (this is a sum of money paid up front at the beginning of the year that is a sort of insurance package to cover them for doctors' appointments and any visits to A&E), they have now lost out on the A&E visits and will have to pay for any visits to this department. Has it not struck home yet that the time is getting closer for some people (who try and work so hard to help themselves) to not be able to afford any visits to this department?
They have even managed to set out a menu of the pricing. It is about time something was done as those in government seem to be oblivious or ignorant. They don't care about what they told us they were going to do when winning our votes on the doorstep.
Are they that silly they cannot see the money they are throwing away on traffic layouts (among many other ideas of this nature) and taking a fortune out of the pot to pay themselves by taking away anything that is going to help the needy they promised to help?
We have had a lot of changes over the last two sets of people in government and we are not getting any better deal at the bottom end of the ladder – in all honesty, we are getting worse.
I think some of the new people in the House are actually afraid to challenge the group of power-hungry bullies who have formed a group that run this island.
We actually put them in to sort things out as they all told us they were going to do. It is now time for them to stand up and be counted. If the little band of bullies don't like it, that's too bad.
Best place in the world to live? Don`t make me laugh. You guys sitting pretty should try freezing your money and living on just a labourer's minimum wage or a pension for a whole year and perhaps you may be able to put into perspective what the real world is all about. Those at the bottom have to pay extortionate rents before having money for food. Do the job you are so very overpaid for, before complete anarchy kicks in and you lose complete control.
You may laugh but, believe me, it gets closer with every move you make to destroy this beautiful island and its people.
ROD HAMON,
5, Rosemount,
Mont Arrive,
St Peter Port,
GY1 2AF.
Editor's footnote: Health & Social Care president Heidi Soulsby responds:
I am grateful for the opportunity to respond as there are a number of claims that the writer has made that are factually incorrect.
HSC took over the direct delivery of the Emergency Department on 1 September 2016 from PCCL Ltd, which had been delivering the service under contract to HSC before this date. Delivering the service directly means that HSC now directly employs all the specialist medical staff required for the safe and high quality provision of the ED service, which runs every minute of every day, year round, for the people of Guernsey. We have also increased the number of qualified staff in order to meet the recommendations of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine when they reviewed the service a few years ago.
ED has always been a chargeable service for users, as it forms part of the primary, rather than secondary, tier of health care on the island. When HSC took over the delivery of this service it maintained the charging system operated by PCCL.
The old charging system was very complicated and often people didn't know exactly what they would be charged for. We have simplified things a great deal. In many cases islanders who have to attend the ED are now charged less than they were under the old system.
Worked examples of different ED treatment types to show the impact of the fee revisions can be found on the State of Guernsey website, www.gov.gg/EDCHARGES.
A key strand of the transformation of health and social care is access to primary health care. Improving accessibility should, in turn, help in prevention and early intervention. As such, and as part of the development of a new operating model, HSC will, with partners across health and social care, investigate new approaches in this area.
HSC has had no part in the decision to remove ED charges from private medical cover offered by a local primary care practice. However, I have been made aware of a small number of people who have been affected and HSC is currently discussing how this can be addressed with the practice concerned.
