Ambulance service urges families to consider £35 child subscription ahead of unexpected emergencies
- Ambulance service launches 2027 subscription scheme with child subscriptions costing £35 a year, compared to £610 for a single emergency call-out
- Chief Ambulance Officer urges families to consider whether they can afford unexpected ambulance bills
- Subscriptions cover emergency call-outs, eligible non-emergency patient transfers and marine ambulance responses via Flying Christine III
- Service responds to around 10,000 calls annually, with approximately 7,000 emergency and urgent cases
- Adult subscriptions cost £75 and senior citizens £53, available online or at Guernsey Post branches
The Ambulance and Rescue Service has launched its 2027 subscription scheme, urging parents and carers to consider whether their household could afford an unexpected ambulance bill.
A child's ambulance subscription costs £35 a year — equivalent to £2.92 a month or around 9p a day. By comparison, a single emergency ambulance call-out costs £610 without a subscription.
Chief Ambulance Officer John Atkins said: "Most parents don't start the day expecting their child to need an ambulance. We all hope our children will stay safe and well, but accidents and illness are part of life, and they don't always happen when we expect them to. The monthly cost is less than what you'd pay for an ice cream at the beach."
"It might be a fall in the playground, an accident on a bike or something more serious. If you need to call 999, the last thing you want is to be worrying about an unexpected bill on top of everything else."
Mr Atkins added: "For £35 a year, a child can have the protection offered by our subscription scheme. That's a predictable cost which could make a significant difference to your finances if you need our service."
The service is asking parents to have a simple conversation at home about whether they can afford not to have an ambulance subscription.
"It's not about expecting something to happen to your child, it's about thinking ahead in case it does. And it's far better to have this conversation about taking out a subscription ahead of time rather than having to discuss after the fact how you're going to pay the full-price ambulance cost," Mr Atkins said.
Ambulances now attend around 10,000 call-outs a year, with approximately 7,000 emergency and urgent calls and around 3,000 non-emergency patient transfer cases. Subscriptions provide cover for eligible non-emergency patient transfers and marine ambulance responses involving the Flying Christine III.
Mr Atkins said: "Having a subscription is something you hope you'll never need to rely on. But if an accident or illness does happen, knowing you have that protection in place can take away some of the financial uncertainty at an already difficult time. I just want to highlight the fact the scheme covers the Flying Christine III as well, because we do make several emergency trips each year to Herm and Sark, and without a subscription, the bill could run into the thousands of pounds."
"We simply want families to understand the cost of an ambulance in Guernsey and make an informed decision about protecting themselves financially — please have that conversation in your household tonight, 'can we afford not to have a subscription.'"
An adult subscription for 2027 costs £75, while senior citizens pay £53. Subscriptions can be purchased online at ambulance.gg/charges-subscriptions or at Guernsey Post branches.
Members of the public are asked not to visit ambulance headquarters at Blanchford House, Rohais, to purchase subscriptions unless they are unable to get to a Post Office, due to limited parking and the need to keep operational ambulances moving.
St John has been operating the ambulance service in Guernsey since 1936. The service is provided on behalf of the States of Guernsey through a grant from the Committee for Health & Social Care, with remaining costs met through the subscription scheme and other means.
The Flying Christine III is a charitable asset built with public support and maintained through a combination of charges, subscriptions and sponsorship. It provides a lifeline paramedic service for the islands of the Bailiwick.
St John Ambulance and Rescue Service also runs the ambulance service for Alderney, where ambulances are paid for through taxation and are free at the point of delivery.
Q&A
Q: How much does a child's ambulance subscription cost?
A: A child's ambulance subscription costs £35 a year, which is equivalent to £2.92 a month or around 9p a day. By comparison, a single emergency ambulance call-out costs £610 without a subscription.
Q: What does the ambulance subscription cover?
A: The subscription covers emergency ambulance call-outs, eligible non-emergency patient transfers, and marine ambulance responses involving the Flying Christine III, which serves Herm and Sark.
Q: Where can I purchase an ambulance subscription?
A: Subscriptions can be purchased online at ambulance.gg/charges-subscriptions or at Guernsey Post branches. The public is asked not to visit ambulance headquarters at Blanchford House unless unable to get to a Post Office.
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