Becoming a patient with us
There are two main ways you can become a patient with us.
- As a contract patient. If you live in Guernsey, Alderney or Herm, you’re entitled to receive secondary healthcare free at the point of delivery under our contract with the States of Guernsey.
- As a private patient. You can choose to be seen as a private patient for a service we offer under the States contract and receive extra benefits. Or you can choose to be a private patient because you’d like a treatment that is not covered by the States contract – what we call a non-contract service.
If you don’t live in Guernsey, Alderney or Herm, we can see you as a private patient.
Whether you are a contract or a private patient, you can be reassured that you’ll receive the same high quality care and expertise throughout your treatment.
When your GP refers you to the Medical Specialist Group, the following target waiting times apply whether you are a contract or a private patient.
| Reason | Time |
|---|---|
| Emergency | Within 24 hours |
| Urgent | Within 7 days |
| Suspected cancer or angina | Within 2 weeks |
| Routine referrals | Within 8 weeks |
We make every effort to see our patients within the target waiting times. The needs of our patients come first, always.
However, at the moment we are not able to achieve our target waiting times for the specialties of orthopaedics, gastroenterology, neurology, ophthalmology, cardiology and general surgery.
Like every other healthcare provider in the world, we face significant challenges. Advances in medicine and technology allow us to do much more for patients, which is good news, but it also means increased demand and increased cost. With people living longer, our patients have more complex healthcare needs, requiring the involvement of several specialities. It can be hard to recruit certain specialists and nurses to care for our patients because there is a global shortage of healthcare professionals. And, like all other healthcare systems, Guernsey is still coping with the knock-on effect of the Covid pandemic.
See Frequently asked questions
Our contract with the States of Guernsey includes key performance indicators (KPIs) that cover professional standards, patient safety and experience and other quality measures for inpatient and outpatient care. You can read the 2022 and 2021 KPI reports below.
