Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Health spokesperson
The Health Minister needs to take personal responsibility for the enormous and unsustainable pressure being felt by both the Royal Hobart and the Launceston General Hospitals.
It is clear there are not enough funded beds at our two major hospitals and not enough staff.
The Greens welcome the government’s announcement that it would fund 40 new nursing positions at the Royal but it is clear the Launceston General also requires additional staffing in order to cope with ever increasing demand.
With $110 million in State funding being ripped out of Health in this term and 337 staff sacked so far, the strain on our major hospitals was inevitable.
It is Tasmanians who rely on our public health system and staff stretched to the limit, who are paying the price for chronic underfunding and the Liberals’ cuts in Health.
Under the Liberal Government’s watch, and despite their promise to ‘fix’ the Health mess, elective surgery waiting lists have soared.
As a community we also need to recognise that a key priority must be to keep people out of hospital by investing in preventative health, and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices across Tasmania.
That is the only way we will meet the Hodgman Government’s stated goal that Tasmania will be the healthiest state in the nation by 2025.