Reduction in waiting lists for hospital operations

Hospital waiting times in Guernsey have improved in the last year, according to new data.

The States of Guernsey figures showed the number of patients on the inpatient waiting list dropped from 2,212 in February 2025 to 2,116 in February 2026, a decrease of around 4%.

Medical Director Dr Peter Rabey said gastroenterology delivered the strongest change with a 25.5% reduction in the inpatient contract waiting list and a 27% reduction in the total list.

In total, gastroenterology waiting list numbers dropped from 428 to 312 between February 2025 and February 2026, with the inpatient contract waiting list decreasing from 368 to 274 and the inpatient private waiting list dropping from 60 to 38.

Rabey added: "Orthopaedics also made steady progress, reducing inpatient contract numbers by 3% and the total list by 3.6%.

"These results highlight the effective work underway to expand capacity, with gastroenterology contributing the largest share of the overall reduction," he said.

As of February 2025, the total number on the waiting list for orthopaedics was 845 and in February 2026 this was 814.

In Guernsey a contract patient is one who lives in Guernsey, Alderney or Herm, and is entitled to receive free secondary healthcare.

A private patient is someone who funds their treatment themselves or through private health insurance.

Rabey said further capacity growth would not be possible until Phase 2 of the hospital modernisation was complete and additional theatre space became available.

"While demand for procedures continues to rise, the improvements achieved to date represent a genuine success," he said.

"Working with primary care, the referral pathway has been refined so patients are directed to the most suitable investigation.

"The endoscopy process itself has also been examined to increase throughput and run lists as efficiently as possible."

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