Jersey's vice-minister Tom Vinette said the island hopes to invest tens of millions of pounds in preventive medical measures.
Speaking at the scrutiny hearing, Vignette emphasized the need for health services to move from a proactive approach to a proactive approach to reducing illness and treatment needs.
Health services need to prevent people from getting sick rather than reacting when they do, Vignette said.
He described the initiative as a long-term investment that ultimately saves money.
“All health services everywhere are trying to do that,” he said.
“We must make a decision here as to whether we want to be reactive and maintain our hind legs, or whether we want to make this radical change to make this radical change and tackle the problem.”
Recognizing future challenges, Vignette added: “It's a big thing and it's going to be difficult.
“We're doing preparatory work. We're going to come up with numbers and programs.”
