This Is Guernsey

By Gemma Hockey

GUERNSEY girls will now receive the cervical cancer vaccine. Treasury and Resources has given an additional grant of £805,000 to Health and Social Services for the vaccine and colorectal screening.

Treasury minister Lyndon Trott described the cash sum as a ‘windfall’, the result of strong economic performance in the last few months.

The screening will cost £130,000 and the vaccine £125,000 a year. A ‘catch-up’ programme for the latter will cost a one-off £550,000.

‘While the department is committed to ensuring public sector expenditure restraint, we share HSSD’s view that the ongoing cost of £255,000, less than 3% of its annual budget, represents excellent value considering the lifesaving potential of these services,’ said Deputy Trott.

‘We are very relieved to be in a position to do this, due to strong economic performance which we have helped to create and sensible prudence generally by the States. Our policy of restraint in the public sector remains intact,’ he said.

Deputy Trott said Health had indicated that the vaccine and screening were its highest priorities. ‘My understanding is that this will save many lives each year. The department’s view has always been that if we can afford these health provisions, we will go out of our way to fund them,’ he said.

It was announced in the UK last month that girls aged 12-13 would be routinely vaccinated against human papillomavirus, one cause of cervical cancer. The vaccine is thought to be most effective when given to girls before they become sexually active.

Health minister Peter Roffey said: ‘I am hugely relieved that the Treasury has managed to find some windfall cash to allow screening for bowel cancer and to start the vaccination programme against cervical cancer,’ he said.

‘While many other equally pressing service developments will have to stay on hold because no resources are yet available, this does represent a major step forward.

‘The inability to commence these two lifesaving programmes was proving to be a real ﾓlying awake at nightﾔ issue for me.

‘We will now consider how quickly these initiatives can be moved forwards,’ he said.