The Government is inviting Islanders to give their views as part of the process of delivering a new hospital for Jersey. The Our Hospital project is setting up a Citizens’ Panel as part of its engagement process, to help provide a representative voice from a wide cross-section of the community.
The Panel’s role is to make sure that the views of Islanders are taken into account by the project when it looks at where the new hospital might be built.
The panel will be asked to reach a consensus view on the criteria that the Our Hospital Project Team should use to determine where the new hospital could be built – although the panel will not be asked to give its view about where that location should be.
It is expected to meet four of five times over a six to eight-week period, with the potential to be asked to reconvene to provide further feedback as the project progresses.
The Citizens’ Panel should be impartial and made up of a representative group of Islanders. Any applicant who is involved in a related campaign group or has previously taken a public position about this project, or the previous Future Hospital project, will not qualify to join the Panel. However, any applicants who do not qualify to become part of the Panel will be invited, along with the public, to make submissions to the Panel.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Our Hospital Citizens’ Panel can apply online at gov.je/ourhospital or by picking up an application form from any parish hall and returning it, once completed, to the Government offices on Broad Street.
A selection panel, led by former head of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau Francis Le Gresley MBE, will then review applications and potentially meet shortlisted applicants before appointing between 12 and 24 Islanders onto the panel.
Announcing the launch of the scheme, Assistant Minister for Health and Community Services Deputy Hugh Raymond said: “The Our Hospital Citizens’ Panel offers an opportunity for people to be involved in the biggest infrastructure project in our Island’s history.
“The panel’s input will be vitally important in helping determine the size, shape and location of Jersey’s new hospital by informing the decision-making parameters and requirements. This is a community project and we want to make sure that Islanders are at the heart of it, providing a true representative voice as to what criteria should be applied.”
The panel’s responsibilities do not extend to determining the size, cost or location of the new hospital building, which remains the responsibility of officers and politicians.
Applications close on Friday, 29 November 2019. Terms of Reference for Our Hospital Project Citizens' Panel
Government of Jersey News Release.