> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thequarry.media/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Guernsey healthcare sees mixed results as admissions rise 16% and complaints increase 27% - URL: https://www.thequarry.media/guernsey-healthcare-sees-mixed-results-as-admissions-rise-16-and-complaints-increase-27/ - Published: 2026-08-18T15:58:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-18T15:58:34.000Z - Author: The Quarry - Tags: News - Inpatient admissions rose 16% to 18,715 whilst formal complaints increased 27% to 189 in 2025 - Emergency Department achieved 88% four-hour target compared to NHS England's 74%, with 10% conversion rate versus NHS's 23% - Gastroenterology achieved 34% reduction in waiting lists through refined pathways and increased CT colonography scans by over 50% - Outpatient and inpatient contract waiting times reached 61% against 95% target, though 94% of routine patients seen within six months - Hospital modernisation Phase 2A costs exceed £130m budget by tens of millions, prompting affordability review and prioritisation exercise Listen to this article 0:00 /0 1× Guernsey's secondary healthcare services delivered a mixed performance in 2025, with significant increases in patient activity alongside ongoing challenges with waiting times and complaints, according to the annual Key Performance Indicators report. Health & Social Care and the Medical Specialist Group handled 18,715 inpatient admissions during the year, representing a 16% increase from 16,083 in 2024\. Main theatre procedures rose to 4,988 from 4,666, whilst Emergency Department attendances increased 4% to 25,079. Formal complaints rose 27% to 189, up from the previous year, although patient compliments also increased to 1,565 from 1,318\. New outpatient referrals decreased 9% to 20,500 from 22,605 in 2024. Deputy Dr George Oswald, president of HSC, said: "Every statistic in this report represents an individual waiting for treatment, receiving care or supporting a loved one. Our focus remains on delivering safe, effective and compassionate services for islanders." The Emergency Department achieved an 88% rate for patients admitted or discharged within four hours, missing the 95% target but exceeding NHS England's 74% performance in December 2025\. The island's ED conversion rate of 10% remained significantly below NHS England's approximately 23% rate. Dr Michelle Le Cheminant, chair of MSG, said: "The Emergency Department conversion rate illustrates something distinctive about how care is delivered here. At 10%, it sits at almost a third of the NHS England rate, because senior HSC emergency doctors work alongside MSG consultants on every shift." Waiting times for outpatient and inpatient contract appointments remained below target at 61%, compared to the 95% target. Outpatient performance stood at 64%, down from 66% in 2024, whilst inpatient performance reached 57%, up from 54% the previous year. Emergency cases within 24 hours achieved 100% compliance across seven cases. However, two-week wait cancer targets reached only 67% for outpatients and 54% for inpatients. Routine eight-week appointments were met for 54% of outpatients and 57% of inpatients. Despite missing formal targets, 80% of routine patients were seen within three months, up from 78% in 2024, and 94% within six months, compared to 93% the previous year. Radiology services achieved 87% overall performance against the 95% target, with a median average of 93% across imaging modalities. CT scans achieved 97%, MRI 96%, nuclear medicine 94%, fluoroscopy 92%, and ultrasound 87%. Gastroenterology delivered the year's most significant achievement, reducing both the inpatient contract list and total waiting list by 34%. The Medical Specialist Group undertook a comprehensive review of the endoscopy waiting list and refined referral pathways to direct patients to the most suitable investigations. Dr Oswald said: "Gastroenterology delivered the strongest gains, with a 34% reduction in both the inpatient contract list and the total waiting list." CT colonography scans increased over 50% from 309 to 473, whilst streamlined endoscopy processes increased throughput. The success followed targeted improvements in patient pathways and investigation protocols. Orthopaedics reduced the inpatient waiting list by 11%, although the total orthopaedic waiting list increased 8% due to growing demand. The De Havilland ward delivered 467 orthopaedic procedures, down from 488 in 2024, and received approval for permanent funding from 2026. In ophthalmology, a Newmedica initiative in February 2025 completed 90 cataract surgeries and 136 outpatient appointments. MSG recruited substantive consultant positions, and the 2026 budget approved additional funding for extended scope practitioners. The overall waiting list position at the end of 2025 stood at 2,184 patients, including 1,847 contract patients, representing a 1% reduction from 2024's 2,207 patients. Hospital acquired infection rates remained low with seven cases across 18,715 admissions, approximately one per 2,670 admissions. Two cases were classified as unavoidable. The rate remained significantly lower than NHS England post-pandemic peaks in MRSA and C. difficile cases. Inpatient discharge summaries compliance reached 83%, the best performance in five years and up from 75% in the previous period. The improvement resulted from streamlined dictation workflows, redirected secretarial capacity to address backlogs, and MSG's investment in AI-supported digital dictation tools. Delayed transfers of care showed improvement with a monthly median average of 298 days, down from 338 days in 2024, representing the most positive sustained movement since 2021\. At year-end, nine patients awaited appropriate discharge, down from 18 at the end of 2024. The emergency readmission rate within 28 days achieved the target at 7%, below the 10% threshold, demonstrating that patients were not discharged inappropriately despite bed capacity issues. The unplanned return to theatre rate within 30 days remained at 0.5%, well below the 2.5% target. Average length of stay for elective admissions remained at three days, below the six-day target, showing that elective workload management did not contribute to bed capacity issues. Organisation-cancelled outpatient appointments averaged 15%, up from 14% in 2024 and above the 10% target. Cancellations included changes made in patients' best interests and unavoidable consultant absences in single-handed specialties. Patient non-attendance rates reached 6% for adults, meeting the target, with 4,765 of 82,419 appointments not attended or cancelled at short notice. For children, the rate stood at 10%, below the 11% target, with 719 of 7,218 appointments affected. Clinic punctuality reached 80% against a 90% target, with 47,563 of 58,923 patients seen within 30 minutes of arrival. However, 732 appointments had no recorded information, and retrospective recording affected accuracy. Radiology cancellation rates remained extremely low at 0.4%, down from 0.6% in 2024. Theatre punctuality declined to 72% from 75% in 2024, continuing a multi-year trend from 84% in 2021\. A Theatre Optimisation Steering Group was established in 2025 to address the issues. Dr Le Cheminant said: "Every number in this report is a person. Someone waiting for a diagnosis. Someone recovering from surgery. Someone supporting a parent, a partner or a child through illness." Complaint resolution within 20 operational days reached 57%, with 107 of 189 formal complaints resolved within the timeframe. From 2026, the target response time extends to 30 days in line with NHS procedures. For informal complaints, 76% of 318 cases were completed within five days, and only 2% of complainants expressed dissatisfaction with outcomes. Off-island referrals requiring scrutiny averaged four per month out of 198 monthly referrals, down from nine out of 178 in 2024\. Most instances were procedural in nature and subsequently approved. Professional compliance remained strong, with 100% of Medical Specialist Group and HSC doctors and consultants maintaining current job plans and descriptions by the end of January 2026\. Annual appraisals reached 99%, with one HSC doctor retiring in February 2026 resulting in the rate falling slightly below target. Cancer multidisciplinary team attendance maintained a high rate of 93%, up from 92% in 2024\. Contractual meeting attendance across 25 meetings reached 77%, down slightly from 80% in 2024. Academic half days attendance declined significantly to 55% from 67% in 2024\. The sessions returned to in-person format from hybrid delivery, and excluding Emergency Department doctors showed a 66% attendance rate. Format and governance changes are planned for 2026. The Our Hospital Modernisation Programme Phase 1 completion was postponed in 2025 but will provide a new 12-bedded critical care unit, initially operating with eight beds and expanding to meet demand, alongside a 10-bed post anaesthetic care unit starting with seven beds. The facilities will feature modern single rooms with natural light and courtyard access. Phase 2A's latest cost estimate came in "many tens of millions above" the £130 million previously agreed. HSC accepted that the current plan was not affordable, and work centred on understanding what could be delivered within the original budget whilst prioritising areas for the biggest patient and staff impact. A new Electronic Patient Record system rolled out during 2025, with the RiO system upgraded for child health and children and family community services. In February 2026, IMS MAXIMS was introduced into acute, mental health and MSG services, whilst RiO extended into community and adult disability services, replacing the end-of-life TrakCare platform. Phase 1 of the EPR implementation completes in August 2026\. Phase 2 remains under assessment for costs, benefits and value for money. The system is expected to automate key processes, improve discharge summary compliance, and support more proactive, timely reporting. Other developments in 2025 included strengthened mental health services with a focus on prevention and early intervention, a new perinatal mental health pathway, and expanded youth support services including a youth stop-vaping service. The La Vieille Plage facilities opened for people with physical and learning disabilities. Dr Oswald said: "Prevention remains a key priority, with ongoing work across public health programmes, including vaccination programmes and the launch of a youth stop-vaping service, designed to reduce avoidable illness, support healthier lifestyles and protect future generations." MSG introduced touchscreen kiosks at clinic sites in December 2025 for immediate anonymous patient feedback. The island also participated successfully in a UK-wide pandemic preparedness exercise. Recruitment challenges persisted, particularly for specialist and hard-to-fill roles, with national and international workforce shortages combined with keyworker accommodation pressures influencing recruitment outcomes. Non-specialist roles in acute areas now often operate at full staff complement, and reliance on agency and locum staff reduced overall compared to previous years. MSG initiatives to address recruitment included the Taste of Medicine programme, a medical bursary scheme, support of the Guernsey Medic Network, and a long-term strategy to promote local talent. Dr Le Cheminant said: "Outcomes, not throughput, are the measure we ultimately judge ourselves by." She added: "The measure that matters most is not in this report. It is whether the person sitting opposite the consultant, who may be your neighbour, your colleague, or one day you, leaves feeling heard, treated with dignity, and given the care they need." The 2025 report marks the final annual snapshot in its current format. With the new Electronic Patient Record system's introduction in the first quarter of 2026, measure definitions and reporting format are under review. From 2027, the intention is to move to more proactive reporting rather than annual snapshots. Future reporting aims to provide more accessible and frequent performance information, offering a timelier view of service delivery and trends with greater emphasis on clinical outcomes, patient experience and quality of care beyond activity and waiting times alone. The report noted that Bailiwick performance in some areas significantly exceeded NHS England, including Emergency Department waiting times and ED conversion rate, whilst other areas including inpatient and outpatient waiting times were broadly comparable. The majority of KPIs were derived from or closely aligned with those widely used across the NHS. ## Q&A **Q: How did Guernsey's Emergency Department performance compare to NHS England?** A: Guernsey achieved 88% of patients admitted or discharged within four hours compared to NHS England's 74% in December 2025\. The island's ED conversion rate of 10% was significantly lower than NHS England's approximately 23%, meaning fewer ED attendees required hospital admission. **Q: What was the most significant waiting list improvement in 2025?** A: Gastroenterology achieved the most significant improvement with a 34% reduction in both the inpatient contract list and total waiting list. This was accomplished through a comprehensive review of the endoscopy waiting list, refined referral pathways, and increased CT colonography scans by over 50% from 309 to 473. **Q: Why has the Our Hospital Modernisation Programme Phase 2A been delayed?** A: The latest cost estimate for Phase 2A came in many tens of millions above the previously agreed £130 million budget. HSC accepted the current plan was not affordable and is working to understand what can be delivered within the original budget whilst prioritising areas for the biggest patient and staff impact.