St John Ambulance Guernsey is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Guardian Medical Guernsey Ltd to provide service continuity for customers, staff, and suppliers of the Health Care Shop, following the recent decision by the charity that it was unable to continue to operate the facility in the current economic climate.

Immediately after the public announcement in January about the forthcoming closure of the shop, the board of directors and leadership team have worked non-stop with numerous private, public and third sector organisations to explore future options with the best community solution for Guernsey. Some of those potential business arrangements were subject to Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), and therefore there was a limit in what could be disclosed.

Mrs Langlois said: “Over the past few weeks we have had various discussions with interested parties, some of whom shared our community-service mindset more than others, but we welcomed constructively all enquiries and worked through them whilst respecting legal and customer data protection requirements. Guardian Medical Guernsey Ltd is owned by a family run, community focused business which shares our values, which I believe makes this the best outcome for the Island.”

Guardian Medical Ltd have an established operation in Jersey for over 25 years, and had been planning to expand into Guernsey, which they have now accelerated in a co-operative manner with St John.

Martin Fitzgerald, speaking on behalf of both Guardian Medical Jersey Limited and Guardian Medical Guernsey Limited, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to align our entry into Guernsey with St John’s handover of its retail product supply operation. We believe that the degree of continuity of staffing will be welcomed by customers, providing excellent service and reassurance from familiar surroundings and with easy access for all. In addition, our scale and service culture will help to maintain a useful competitive environment within the Guernsey market for essential mobility equipment and a wide range of quality healthcare products. In due course, our new location will also overcome the growing constraints of running a successful retail operation in the middle of an increasingly busy emergency ambulance station.”

The Health Care Shop team is now working on replenishing all stock levels and the shop on the Rohais will be operating business as usual in preparation for the transition of the business to Guardian Medical Guernsey Ltd.