Andrea Dawkins MP | Greens Member for Bass
The Launceston General Hospital is in a serious situation after the dramatic loss of Emergency Department staff. Nine of eleven specialists and six senior nursing staff have resigned, retired or significantly reduced their hours.
This has been in the pipeline for months and Health Minister, Michael Ferguson, has done nothing to stop it.
Experienced staff, with a professional commitment to the health and wellbeing of the people of Launceston, have been pushed to their limits.
The unsustainable workload and pay cuts have been the catalyst for this exodus. Minister Ferguson has starved the LGH of funds and forced staff to resign, in the interests of their own health.
Without that clinical experience, the demand on the remaining staff could be the tipping point for the LGH. It's the people of Launceston, in the Health Minister's own backyard, who will feel the pain most deeply.
The target for triage times for emergency patients in Launceston, is a shocking 64% for 2016/17. If Minister Ferguson doesn't address the issues in the LGH Emergency Department immediately, even that number will be unattainable.