The Hodgman Liberal government must guarantee that any reduction in the current three Tasmanian health Organisations (THOs) to one, must be based on good public policy and improved health outcomes, and also guarantee that local autonomy over service delivery is maintained.
“The Greens have called for a review of the current three THOs for some time now since they were established in 2012, so we welcome the Liberals coming on board however we also warn that any such restructure must still be driven by good public policy outcomes,” Greens Leader Kim Booth MP said today.
“Similarly we need to hear the Minister, Michael Ferguson, guarantee that local autonomy over service delivery on the ground will still be maintained under a restructured single THO.”
“We are concerned that instead of good health outcomes being the Liberals’ impetus for this restructure, they are instead using alleged wrong-doing by senior bureaucrats within the current THOs as a stalking-horse to justify shutting down two THOs and remove resources from health.”
“We need to be clear that any review of the current THOs to one is not just about shutting down facilities, but is a coherent and streamlined restructure that still has as its primary focus the delivery of health services to Tasmanians effectively and efficiently. Such a restructure, for example, could free up desperately needed additional funding to be invested in preventative health programs.”
“The decision to review and restructure the THOs needs to occur separate to any investigation into matters surrounding those allegations. Nor should it be about reducing resources allocated to our public health sector.”
“The Greens are calling on Minister Ferguson to come clean on any potential review of the THOs, and detail the timeframe for that restructure, how local services will be delivered on the ground around the state, and expected savings. We are also calling for the community and stakeholders to be consulted on those changes,” Mr Booth said.