Shadow Minister for Health and Human Services

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12
Nov

BREAKING NEWS - Ten years of Labor puts Tasmania last on hospital scorecard

2008

Tasmania’s performance is ranked last overall of all public hospitals in the nation, a Federal Australian Medical Association Scorecard reveals today.

It is the result of ten years of mismanagement of the health system by the State Labor Government.

Shadow Health and Human Services Minister, Brett Whiteley, said the scorecard demonstrated the failure of the Health Minister, Lara Giddings, and her government to deliver improved outcomes for Tasmanians from an ever increasing spend on health services.

“This government pats itself on the back every year for spending more and more money on health, but seems to have no concern whatsoever about ensuring that this delivers improved results for Tasmanians,” Mr Whiteley said.

“Only yesterday, the Opposition highlighted the abominable state of hospital waiting lists that Labor promised in 1998 it would reduce, and which have skyrocketed more than 40% since.

“Meanwhile, the government is now focusing all its efforts on building a $1 billion hospital on the Hobart waterfront.”

Mr Whiteley said the scorecard ranked Tasmania last in accreditation of public hospital beds and number of admissions per population.

“We ranked second last of all States and Territories on elective surgery conducted within recommended timeframes and public hospital expenditure per person.“And we ranked 5th on the number of public beds per 1000 population.

“The only category in which we scored reasonably well – third of all States and Territories – was on the number of Emergency Department presentations seen within recommended guidelines.”

Hospital beds

The Scorecard reveals hospital bed capacity has been slashed by 67% in the past 20 years and more beds are needed.

In Tasmania, bed closures to save hospitals money has become a feature of the health system, when this dangerous precedent, according to the AMA, costs lives.

50/50 Hospital funding

The Scorecard pushes for a 50/50 hospital funding model in the new Health Care Agreement – at a cost of $3 billion to the Federal Government.

With a Liberal Government in Canberra, Lara Giddings was continually talking about equity of funding for health, but ironically has gone quiet since her colleagues came to office.

Medical graduates

The Scorecard says States have a responsibility to provide positions of medical graduates.
The Tasmanian Government is the only State not matching intern positions with graduates, and while the DHHS say there is not the demand for doctors, there is a crisis in demand for GPs in this State – and graduates need to a year’s internship before they can enter GP training.

Admission within clinical timeframes.

The report states that admission for surgery outside clinical timeframes leads to impairment of quality of life and reduced workforce productivity and aims to have 90% of elective surgery patients seen within recommended timeframes.

DHHS data shows that only 40% of Category 2 patients were seen within the recommended 90-day guidelines at the Royal, 58% at the LGH and 44% at the NWRH. This State has a long way to go to meet the 90% objective and it’s clear from national figures that other States are doing much better than Tasmania.