Guernsey’s government is chasing hundreds of healthcare debts through the court system, a new Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.
Petty debts summons rose from 17 to 728 – an increase of more than 4,000% – between 2019 and 2024.
The majority of the increase happened since 2022, when a new government-wide debt management team had targeted a “large number of historic debts”, the States said.
Darren Smith, finance business partner for the States, said there had been a “significant increase” in summons issued for unpaid health invoices, but it was a “last resort” only taken once people had received at least two reminders.