Health charges being developed by the government will not save money or change patient behaviour without public support, a report from the Jersey Audit Office has warned.
The report on sustainable healthcare funding also said there needed to be “wider healthcare and social reform” to ensure public spending delivered value for money.
It said the government was considering a “suite” of charges, such as fees for patients who missed hospital appointments or attended the Emergency Department instead of visiting a GP, and that these measures would need to be explained and enforced to drive financial and cultural change.
The BBC has contacted the health minister for a response.
The report outlined funding healthcare was a “signficant financial challenge” for Jersey, which spends a greater percentage of government money on health than any country in the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the island was set to have a public funding gap for health of nearly £300m by 2043.
Report author Lynn Pamment CBE said: “The risk of ever-rising publicly-funded expenditure on healthcare has been known for a long time.
“It is not an issue that can be resolved by HCJ [Health and Care Jersey Advisory Board] or the government in isolation. The solutions that will be required will need a wider public consensus.”