By Hannah Esnouf Palestine Action
THE cost of certain health appointments has been reduced by 拢10, the government has announced.
Appointments with nurses, pharmacists, paramedics, health care assistants 鈥 and telephone consultations with GPs 鈥 will all be cheaper, in a move which came into force this month.
The government announcement follows previous reductions in the cost of face-to-face GP appointments 鈥 which were reduced by 拢20 in 2023, with a further 拢10 subsidy announced by the government in May last year.
The new reduction does not apply to face-to-face doctor appointments.
Dr Gordon Callander, from the Primary Care Body, while healthcare costs continued to rise, GP surgeries were doing 鈥渁ll they can to minimise the impact on patients鈥.
He said: 鈥淢any practices now offer consultations with other healthcare professionals who can often meet patients鈥 needs.
鈥淚t is great that the important work of practice nurses, healthcare assistants, paramedics and pharmacists is recognised by Employment, Social Security and Housing 鈥媡o allow the evolution of services offered to patients.鈥
Dr Callander noted that remote consultations by phone or video had 鈥減roved invaluable to a number of patients鈥.
鈥淲e are grateful to government for recognising and encouraging new ways of working which reflect modern general practice,鈥 he added.鈥
Social Security Minister Lyndsay Feltham said the new reduction would mean that more patients could access a wider range of primary care services.
Deputy Feltham said: 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to general practice for working with us to deliver this important expansion.
鈥淭ogether, we are working to strengthen a high-quality, accessible, and flexible primary care system for all Islanders.鈥
The new subsidy does not apply to out-of-hours services provided by on-call doctors, or to patients using the Health Access Scheme who pay fixed reduced fees for GP services.
In April, Windsor Medical Clinic became the first GP practice in Jersey to offer free face-to-face doctor consultations for all existing patients, and up to 1,000 new patients.
It remains to be seen if other surgeries follow suit.