FOR as long as most people will remember, the Channel Islands have been entitled to receive free emergency health care in the UK, just as UK visitors have free access to similar services here.

This reciprocal arrangement is, apparently, now under threat in the wake of a unilateral review by the UK Department of Health. Our own Health Minister, Ben Shenton, has offered assurances that the situation is being monitored, but as yet the possible ramifications of the proposed change are unclear.

That said, Health’s chief executive, Mike Pollard, says that he is ‘fairly confident’ that cessation of the agreement would not affect cancer treatment in Southampton or care in other specialist centres such as Great Ormond Street. In addition, it already seems clear that Channel Island students would be treated as temporary UK residents in respect of health care.

If specialist treatment were to remain available, the blow would be softened, but the consequences of the abrogation of the emergency care provision would nevertheless be serious. Islanders visiting the UK would be all too aware that an accident or sudden illness could lead to a substantial bill. A layer of bureaucratic complexity could also be added to the already stressful business of seeking emergency treatment.

And, from the point of view of UK visitors, a small but significant benefit of choosing the Channel Islands as a destination would be lost.

Adequate travel insurance could, of course, simplify the situation, but if the reciprocal agreement is indeed brought to a close, residents of Jersey, Guernsey and the rest of the bailiwicks would do well to look very carefully at their policy documents.

Meanwhile, we should remember that the worst has not yet happened and that this matter is still under consideration on the other side of the Channel. It is therefore to be hoped that Senator Shenton’s approach to UK Health Minister Dawn Primarolo will bear fruit.

It is also to be hoped that the present concern over health care is not symptomatic of any other unilateral initiatives that might affect the complex but generally highly satisfactory relationship between the Crown
Dependencies and the rest of Britain.