Health minister Hunter Adam in one of the rooms at Amballa. He is delighted with the outcome of the collaboration with Housing. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0624554)

AN INITIATIVE to recruit and retain essential staff in the health sector should be used by other States departments, it has been claimed.
A lack of quality key-worker accommodation prompted a joint scheme to tackle such problems between the Health and Social Services Department and the Guernsey Housing Association that cost nearly £1m.
The purpose-built unit in the Ville au Roi, St Peter Port, will house 10 health and social care workers on licence, be it for a few months or few years.
Association chief executive Steve Williams said he hoped this would be the first of many developments to house such workers.
‘The Health, Home and Education departments all provide key workers,’ he said.
‘We would be happy to work with all these departments.
‘We feel that this is a good way to get good-quality accommodation for the future.
‘We are quite hopeful that this will be the first of other developments.’