Rosalie Woodruff MP | Acting Greens Leader
In his statement today announcing he would be handing over the reins of the Health portfolio, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he’d made this decision “knowing that our health system is in the best place it’s been for a long time”.
The government’s own data shows this statement is simply dishonest.
Ramping is now the worst it’s ever been, with more than 1700 patients ramped each and every month, often for many hours.
Nearly half of all patients who present to Tasmanian emergency departments are not seen within clinically safe timeframes. This is down from two thirds of patients seen within these times less than three years ago.
Ambulance response times remain the worst in the country, and more than 100 paramedic shifts are going unfilled every week.
The only hospital providing lifesaving care for thousands of people with serious mental health disorders, St Helens, closed without any continuity of service provided by the government.
The list goes on and on.
Jeremy Rockliff can try all he likes to pretend he’s done a good job handling the Health portfolio, but the facts don’t lie. Across the board our health system is struggling more than ever, and its everyday Tasmanians who are paying the price.