£77 charge for misusing A&E

People going to A&E in Jersey for a non-emergency could be charged £77 from next year.

Ministers have proposed the fee in the 2026 Budget.

They say an estimated 14,000 patients a year use the hospital's emergency department for day-to-day healthcare which could be provided by a GP.

The government says the proposed new fee is intended to change behaviours, not raise revenue.

"Given the scale of the pressures faced in Health and Care Jersey, steps need to be taken now to protect our frontline healthcare services. This includes bringing forward two new fees to be introduced during 2026 to help promote behavioural changes and reduce wasteful use of resources:" - GoJ 2026 Budget.

The proposed fee reflects the current rate charged by the out-of-hours GP service, Jersey Doctors on Call.  That is £77 for a Jersey resident and £97 for a non-resident.

A standard GP surgery appointment is in the region of £40 for adults and is free for children and students.

"On arrival in the hospital, people who would be more appropriately cared for in the community will be encouraged to seek the

right healthcare from the right provider and be redirected to a pharmacist, their GP or Jersey Doctors on Call, as appropriate.

If they still wish to receive day-to-day healthcare in the Emergency Department, they will be provided with this care at a fee."

-  GoJ 2026 Budget.

Ministers also want to bring in a charge for patients who repeatedly miss outpatient appointments.

They say 12,000 people a year fail to show up without telling the hospital they won't be attending.

A £55 penalty is planned.

"This charge represents around half the current cost of a basic outpatient appointment." -  GoJ 2026 Budget.

We're told it will be rolled out along with a new system that will make it easier for patients to change their appointments online and by phone.

Some groups will be exempt from the non-attendance fee, including mental health patients, children and people attending substance misuse clinics.

There will be an appeals process for those who feel they have been unfairly charged.

"As the fees are intended to shift behaviours, not generate income, there are no associated income targets, and it is hoped that the need to levy the fees would reduce over time." -  GoJ 2026 Budget.

Initial public reaction to the announcement has been critical of the new charges:

"We're paying Social Security... we're going to the hospital to have help, and we need to be charged?  That is ridiculous."

"Sometimes you don't know... you don't have the knowledge of a doctor to know if it is actually serious or not."

But one hospital consultant told Channel 103:

"As a hospital employee involved in the emergency services and the outpatient services,  the former are certainly over-subscribed to, particularly for conditions which could easily be seen in the community by GPs.  It then impacts on the patients who really require the true emergency, by increasing waiting times etc.

"In terms of outpatients appointments, that is no different because the waiting lists are really long.

"There is only a finite amount of health staff and the population needs to be served fairly across the board. Those who need them should be able to attend in a timely fashion and those who don't necessarily need to go to the hospital or feel their appointment is not important enough to attend are taking the space of someone else who might need it."

Read more about the 2026 Budget proposals here.