JERSEY and Guernsey might be falling out over fish, but the islands have agreed a new deal to level the playing field when it comes to healthcare.

At the moment, healthcare in Guernsey is cheaper for visiting Jersey Islanders than it is for people who actually live there – but that is soon to change. In Guernsey, island residents are billed for the use of ambulances and for accident and emergency department treatment. However, when a Jersey resident uses either of those services the tab is picked up by the Guernsey States. Sarnian taxpayers also pay part of the price of a Jersey resident’s visit to a GP in Guernsey. Health chief executive Mike Pollard said: ‘While there is much to unite the two Bailiwicks, their health and social care systems are totally different, particularly in the way that they are funded. In Guernsey the citizen pays more out of his or her own pocket in terms of direct health charges than a citizen in Jersey does.’