From April 1st, Brits travelling to the Channel Islands will no longer be able to receive free care for illness or injury, as a decades-old agreement comes to an end.

The agreement, which has been in place between the UK and the Channel Islands since May 1976, will end March 31st.

Medical insurance that is sufficient at NHS hospitals will no longer qualify visitors for free treatment for injury or sickness on the islands, as they don't have the same hospital system.

The change also affects those visiting from the islands to the UK.

The Department of Health is recommending those travelling to the islands, which include Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark and Herm, take out travel insurance to guarantee they will not run in to any problems while on holiday.

As an example, someone who became ill on a trip to Guernsey or Alderney before March 31st would pay to see a doctor and to get accident and emergency hospital treatment, but he would have got free in-patient hospital treatment.

Someone travelling to Jersey before the agreement ended would pay to see a doctor or get prescribed medicine, but in and out patient treatment as well as ambulance travel would have been free.

In both cases, after March 31st insurance will have to cover the costs for all the mentioned treatments.