Two new sets of concerning healthcare data have provided more evidence that Tasmania can’t afford Jeremy Rockliff’s health cuts.
The Productivity Commission’s latest Report on Government Services data shows Tasmanian patients waited significantly longer on average than mainland counterparts to be seen in hospital emergency departments.
Only 47 per cent were seen on time in the emergency category, 43 per cent in the urgent category, and 58 per cent in the semi-urgent category. The national averages were 67 per cent, 61 per cent and 70 per cent respectively.
Elective surgery waiting times in Tasmania were even worse, with 43 per cent of patients in the clinical urgency 1 category not seen within clinically recommended timeframes and 50 per cent of patients at urgency 2 not seen within clinically recommended timeframes.
According to the latest release of the Tasmanian Health Dashboard, 15,870 emergency department presentations were recorded in December, the highest number in 12 months, while hospital admissions dropped to the lowest figure of the year at 10,632. The biggest impact was felt at the Launceston General Hospital which saw a 5.8 per cent increase in emergency department presentations over the last year.
Statewide, over 50 per cent of emergency department patients were forced to wait longer than four hours, highlighting the strain that presentations placed on our hospitals and their staff.
The outpatient list grew by 2170 patients in 2024 with 61,317 patients waiting to receive care. This is more than double the number of patients waiting for care when the Liberals started governing in 2014.
With $600 million worth of cuts to the Health Department across the forward estimates, it’s impossible to see how things are going to improve in 2025.
While the Federal Government has made strides in alleviating some of the burden by opening five urgent care clinics in less than three years, the State Government has let Tasmanian patients down.
THS staff do an incredible job considering the pressure they’ve been put under by the State Government, but without a clear plan or urgency from the Liberals, patients will continue to wait, and workers will remain under the pump..
Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Minister for Health
