The Opposition has reached a disgraceful new low in misleading Tasmanians over the health system.
Minister for Health, Guy Barnett, said what is worse is they are either doing it deliberately, which shows they'll do anything for a headline, or they are so inept in the ability to understand health data that it proves they are not fit to govern.
"They have weaponised the death of Tasmanians on the outpatient waitlist," Minister Barnett said.
"Labor has once again shown they have no policies, are only interested in scaring Tasmanians and continue to talk down our dedicated healthcare workers.
"The information provided to Ms Dow clearly notes that no correlation can be drawn between a person's cause of death and the circumstances to why they are on a waiting list.
"Labor has form on this and repeatedly misconstrue figures for the purpose of misleading Tasmanians, politicising the death of patients for their own self-interest."
In the past 12 months, our hardworking health staff have delivered more than 550,000 outpatient appointments across Tasmania, with the vast majority of people on the waiting list seen in an outpatient setting rather than requiring inpatient admission.
"As part of our Transforming Outpatient Services Strategy released last year, we are implementing comprehensive plans to transform the way outpatient services are delivered, bring down the waiting list and help more Tasmanians get their care sooner," Minister Barnett said.
"This includes targeted plans to support patients who have been waiting the longest, ensure patients with the highest clinical need are prioritised and support speciality areas experiencing the longest wait times."
This is yet another example of why Tasmanians do not trust Labor on health.
They should be ashamed of themselves and correct the record immediately.
