Alarming new information detailing serious failings at hospitals in the North West strengthens Labor's call for a Royal Commission into the COVID-19 crisis in Tasmania.
Reports in the media from whistleblowers have revealed the North West Regional Hospital and the North West Private Hospital were struggling with staff shortages and concerns about personal protective equipment weeks before they were shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said the revelations were worrying and a Royal Commission was the only way to get to the bottom of the issue.
"Tasmanian has seen one of the worst outbreaks in the country at the North West Regional Hospital. One third of Tasmania's hospitals were closed, the military was called in and nearly 5000 people were forced into quarantine and the North West was locked down," Ms White said.
"225 Tasmanians have contracted the illness and, tragically, 13 people have died to date, many businesses have closed and nearly 20,000 people have lost their jobs.
"It's alarming to hear today that only weeks before these North West hospitals were forced to close due to the outbreak, they were struggling to recruit cleaners, orderlies, locums and nurses and also had serious concerns about PPE.
"Labor had been raising concerns of staff shortages and budget cuts in our major hospitals and the impact this is having on health workers and patients in the months leading into this crisis.
"The impact of COVID-19 has been enormous and the Government needs to commit to a Royal Commission in acknowledgement of the massive health, social and economic impacts the community has felt as a consequence of COVID-19."
Rebecca White MP
Labor Leader
