Tasmania's health system is getting sicker by the day under Jeremy Rockliff's part-time leadership, two new reports reveal.
The latest dashboard data shows emergency departments are under immense pressure, with the number of patients being seen within four hours remaining at an all time low of 48 per cent – barely half the 90 per cent promised by the Liberals in 2018.
The situation at the Royal Hobart Hospital's Emergency Department is particularly concerning, with nearly three quarters of all patients not being seen within clinical timeframes. Just this week patients were asked not to attend the Launceston General Hospital because it simply couldn't cope.
Ambulance response times remain the slowest in the country with patients statewide waiting nearly 20 per cent longer than in 2014, while the Health Department's Annual Report shows more than a third of all ambulance patients were ramped for more than 30 minutes in Hobart and Launceston.
The waiting list to see a specialist remains above 55,000, more than double what it was in 2014, with patients waiting an average of 441 days for an appointment.
These terrible conditions in our health system are putting Tasmanians' lives at risk and pushing staff to breaking point. Staff have been striking for better working conditions and only a few days ago we saw critical, lifesaving cancer treatments in the north west shut down because of staff shortages.
The Premier and part-time Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff needs to stop obsessing about his $750 million stadium in Hobart and start getting the basics right in the health system.
Anita Dow MP
Shadow Health Minister
