Concern shortage of GPs in Jersey may lead to longer waiting times

  • Video report by ITV Channel's Phil Wellbrook

A representative of Jersey's Primary Care Body fears islanders may face longer waiting times if an ongoing shortage of GPs in the island is not addressed.

Dr Ed Klaber says patients could ultimately end up paying for a service they are unable to use if they are unable to have face-to-face contact with their doctor.

He puts the shortage down to the high cost of living in Jersey, which puts many practitioners off making the move.

It comes at a time when a number of island GPs are approaching retirement age.

"I think what's happened is, because of the pandemic, it's caused a lot of people to assess maybe whether it's the time to retire if they're close to retiring, or those who weren't absolutely settled in General Practice maybe moving on. It means not only here in Jersey but also in the UK there's a shortage of GPs."

"We've had a bit of an issue with a lot of our GP workforce in Jersey coming up to retirement age and we've known about this for a little while, but unfortunately our ability to recruit people to Jersey remains a challenge."

According to the Primary Care Body, there are 68 full time GPs in the island - of that number, around 13 are set to retire over the next three years.

Jersey GPs say government must increase subsidies to avoid rise in doctors' fees

The government announced plans for a major shakeup of island healthcare in the form of the Jersey Care Model, which will see care becoming less centralized and more support being delivered in the community.

However, concern has been raised that there are not enough staff in the island to ensure it will work.

Speaking to ITV News, the island's outgoing Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf believes there must be a concerted effort by the next government to boost staff numbers.

"There is a real issue with bringing people into the island," he said. "The government needs to decide, is it going to subsidise housing for people? Is it going to pay better wages? Is it going to incentivise in other ways?

"This won't be just Jersey - this is going to have to be a national drive to increase the number of people in these professions."

  • Jersey's Health Minister Richard Renouf, speaking to ITV Channel TV's Jess Dunsdon