There is no doubt we need more investment in primary care with the latest health dashboarddata showing that too many Tasmanians are presenting to our emergency departments with non-urgent conditions. This puts pressure on our emergency departments and hardworking staff and demonstrates that Tasmanians are having difficulty accessing and affording community and primary care.
We have 17 rural and district hospitals that are underutilised across the state in communities where access to primary care services is difficult. These communities would benefit from greater investment from the state to ensure better access to community and primary health services in regional Tasmania.
A Labor Government would invest in our rural and district hospitals to make sure Tasmanians can access health care closer to where they live.
Tasmania is in the midst of a health crisis and Tasmanians need a full time Health Minister with a dedicated focus on addressing this crisis. Tasmanians are not getting care when and where they need it and our health workforce is at breaking point.
The latest health data demonstrates that thenumber of Tasmanians on the specialist waitlist is back up to over 56,000, which is completely unacceptable. This is the hidden elective surgery wait list.
Ambulance response times are the worst they have ever been at 15.9 minutes. Ambulance ramping and staff shortages continue and this is having devastating consequences for Tasmanians.
There are currently 97 paramedics across the state on short term contracts. A Labor Government would permanently employ these 97 paramedics. Our health system needs them and they deserve secure work.
Tasmanians should not lose of the sight of the fact that the Liberals have run the health system into the ground over the past eight years.
This Government needs to stop obsessing about a football stadium in Hobart and put more focus on the priorities that matter to all Tasmanians.
Anita Dow MP
Shadow Minister for Health
