Health care is becoming far too expensive
NEXT January’s spending review will inevitably see a push for allocating more funds to Health & Social Care so that more drugs can be made available in the island, in line with NHS policy and regardless of cost. This is a push too far, and as the island cannot afford this, consideration will be given to introducing a new tax, putting even more pressure on people on low income.
We still have 130 families living in poverty... the island’s income inequality is still among the highest in the world... and the States have still not delivered the promised savings through a leaner public sector... We need to get our priorities right.
The incessant argument about needing to match the number of drugs and treatments available on the NHS is ridiculous as it deliberately ignores the island’s tiny population and limited resources. We need to strike the right balance. Deputies know that health care costs are getting out of control and need to be contained; the time has come to trim some services, however difficult and painful the choices will be. Equality for all is a utopian concept, and quite insincere coming from deputies earning twice as much as the hundreds of people on the lowest income. The spending review is the time for facts, not emotions, and Policy & Resources need to keep a tight grip on the island’s purse (our taxes) and ensure that we live within our means, and remain solvent and fiscally independent.
Comparing a mouse (Guernsey) with an elephant (UK) is nonsense. Where are the comparative tables (facts and figures) with other small island communities which, like us, have no economies of scale and no ‘big brother’ to subsidise them, and which all have to cut their coat according to their cloth? Guernsey recently signed an environment charter with six other islands, and five more islands are also expected to join the Blue Islands Charter. Obtaining data from these islands would be a useful, valid and meaningful starting point for the fiscal debate. Deputies must do their homework. As Deputy Heidi Soulsby said on her return from the 33rd British-Irish Council Summit in Dublin, discussions with other administrations are extremely useful and can be used ‘to inform the development of our policies locally’. Exactly. But please note, this is not a cue to go and visit any of these islands. Email exchanges and a few telephone conversations will provide all the information needed in time for the January debate.
PHIL DUPRE,
Address withheld.