The latest health dashboard has reaffirmed that Tasmania's emergency health care system is broken and in need of urgent attention.
The data shows just 39 per cent of emergency department patients are seen within four hours at the Launceston General Hospital.
The Royal Hobart Hospital is faring just as badly, with 61 percent of emergency department patients-nearly two-thirds-not being seen within clinically recommended timeframes.
These unacceptable wait times have led to a staggering 6.000 patients walking out of emergency departments without being seen in the past year.
Ambulance response times also remain at near-record highs, with Tasmanians waiting an average 14.6 minutes for an ambulance, while our paramedics are at breaking point.
A Labor government would make the 97 paramedics on short-term contracts around the state permanent as a matter of priority to ensure they stay and work in Tasmania.
We would also invest more in our district hospitals and primary care to ease the pressure on our emergency departments and hard-working health workers.
Over nearly a decade, the Liberal government has run the health system into the ground, it's the worst it's ever been and yet they remain focussed on the wrong priorities, putting all their efforts into building a stadium in Hobart we neither need nor can afford.
A Labor government will prioritise our health system and give Tasmanians the health care they need and, most importantly, deserve.
Anita Dow MP
Shadow Health Minister
