As a result, it said, it could cost more to implement the fees than they would generate.<\/p>\n
It also said the minister was considering re-introducing a means-testing system<\/a> for patients needing travel and off-island accommodation, which could save about \u00a3260,000 a year.<\/p>\n Health Minister Senator Tom Binet recently told the Jersey Evening Post<\/a> patients might face a charge for prescriptions, which have been free since 2008.<\/p>\n He said “people will start having to pay or contribute more for health”.<\/p>\n The report has recommend the government explains the reasons for all fees and charges to the public so there was support for them.<\/p>\n ‘Bed-blocking’ law<\/p>\n One of the report’s suggestions was for the minister to consider introducing a law to enable the eviction of medically fit people who refused to move from hospital a suitable care facility.<\/p>\n It follows the introduction of a \u00a3500 a day charge<\/a> for patients refusing hospital discharge, a practice known as “bed blocking”.<\/p>\n The report cautioned that charging people for hospital accommodation might not encourage them to move on, but “instead encourage self-funders to stay on the basis they are paying for and receiving a service”.<\/p>\n Campaigner Mary Venturini said “everybody gets anxious” when changes to the health system are not communicated properly [BBC]<\/p>\n Health campaigner Mary Venturini said funding was an “essential problem” and that it was “absolutely vital” the government got to grips with it.<\/p>\n However, she said that any changes, and particularly any fees introduced, had to have a joined-up approach instead of being piecemeal.<\/p>\n She said: “At the moment, we hear one thing, and then we hear a next thing, and then we hear another thing, and we’re all getting very fidgety about this.<\/p>\n “It will need a lot of thinking, it will need good presentation, it will need good communication, and then I think it is possible and that people will accept it; but they won’t accept things that are just being fired off minute-by-minute because everybody gets anxious.”<\/p>\n Follow BBC Jersey on X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n More on this story![\"Mary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/b49d935aab815b77daca8c804aea55c9.jpeg\"\/)
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