Labor Leader Rebecca White has written to Tasmania's new Premier Peter Gutwein, seeking a bipartisan approach to tackling the state's health crisis.
Ms White said the health of Tasmanians should be above politics.
"Labor welcomes Peter Gutwein's commitment that his government will do more to fix the crisis in health, and his admission that too many Tasmanians have been left behind.
"We see daily the impact of chronic underinvestment in the health and hospital system. Elective surgery waiting lists are at a record high of nearly 11,000 people, and ambulance ramping at our hospitals is increasing.
"The Launceston General Hospital is at its highest escalation level more than 70 per cent of the time, and its emergency department is the worst performing in the country for patient access block.
"This has been occurring under the nose of the new Premier in his electorate of Bass. It's time he took action. As Premier he must commit to providing the resources the LGH needs to function effectively."
Ms White said the change of Premier provides an opportunity for a change of course.
"Budget cuts have eroded the public services that Tasmanians rely on, which in turn has created growing inequality in our community. Peter Gutwein has acknowledged this and committed to 'do more'.
"Labor calls on the Premier to reverse the $450 million in budget cuts that threaten to erode already stretched public services, including health.
"We stand ready to work with the government to find ways to resolve the crisis in health.
"The structural underfunding of health must stop. Peter Gutwein knows from independent analysis conducted by KPMG that there is a structural deficit in the health budget of around $100 million every year.
"The Budget is not sustainable when it is underpinned by structural underfunding of essential services."
Rebecca White
Labor Leader
