The Health System Daily Dashboard for the last week continues to highlight the incredible strain Tasmania’s health system is feeling under the Liberals.

Between 16-20 December, 87 patients spent over 24 hours in the emergency department, half of emergency department patients spent more than 12 hours in ED, and less than 10 per cent left within 4 hours.

The latest monthly dashboard released on Friday, showed 15,031 emergency department presentations for November – up 244 from the same time last year. With just 46 per cent of patient presentations at major hospitals seen on time, compared to 56 per cent for the same time last year.

These statistics show how much pressure emergency staff are under and explain why so many Tasmanian health workers are leaving the system. It was revealed during Estimates that the government spends at least $76 million on agency nurses and at least $105 million on locum doctors. That’s $182 million per year on outsourced staff.

The 2024-25 budget includes $600 million worth of cuts to the Health Department, so it’s impossible to see how working conditions in the THS and patient outcomes are going to improve under the Liberal minority government.

Instead of cuts and band-aid solutions, the government should be focused on building a sustainable Tasmanian Health Service by addressing staffing levels, improving working conditions, and directly employing a strong and stable workforce.

Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Minister for Health