Minister calls for proactive approach to healthcare

Jersey's Health Minister, Deputy Tom Binet, has said he wants the island to invest tens of millions of pounds in preventative healthcare measures.

Speaking at a scrutiny hearing, Binet emphasised the need for the health service to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to reduce illness and treatment needs.

The health service needs to stop people from getting ill, rather than reacting when they do, Binet said.

He described the initiative as a long-term investment that would ultimately save money.

"Every health service everywhere is trying to do it," he said.

"We've got to make a decision here as to whether we want to stay on the back foot doing reactive health, or whether we want to make this fundamental change to try and tackle the problem."

Acknowledging the challenges ahead, Binet added: "It's a big one and that's going to be tricky.

"We're doing the preparatory work, and we're going to come up with a number and a programme."

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