The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to working with Tasmanian communities, patients and medical professionals to fix the broken health system.
This week we are holding another round of forums in Burnie, Devonport, Launceston and Hobart to talk about the changes proposed in the draft health White Paper, which will finally get all of our hospital and health services working together in one statewide health system for everyone.
Since the release of the draft White Paper there has been strong support from across Tasmania for the proposal to give each of our major hospitals a dedicated role in delivering specialised services to patients statewide.
The next step, which we have been working on since the release of the draft White Paper, is to ensure proposed service changes are worked through in detail with hospital staff, clinical experts and the community.
It is understandable that staff and patients are eager to know exactly how changes will be implemented. I can assure Tasmanians that no changes will be made without the necessary patient transport and accommodation support, and staff resourcing, being finalised and in place.
The community forums, the first of which takes place in Hobart this evening, will ensure the feedback from staff and patients is heard and taken into account.
Once again, I would like to thank staff and the broader community for their patience as these critical reforms are progressed. The One Health System reforms are being supported by the most open, honest and extensive consultation on health ever undertaken by a Tasmanian Government.
The One Health System reforms are all about ensuring Tasmanians have equal access to high-quality clinical services, with our major hospitals delivering services that they are best equipped to deliver safely, for all Tasmanians.
An explainer video about the reforms has been developed and can be viewed at www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/onehealthsystem
Forum dates and venues;
• Hobart – Today, Monday May 4th, Hotel Grand Chancellor, 6pm – 7:30pm
• Devonport – Tuesday May 5th, Devonport Entertainment Centre, 6pm – 7:30pm
• Launceston – Wednesday May 6th, Hotel Grand Chancellor, 6pm – 7:30pm
• Burnie – Thursday May 7th, Burnie Arts and Convention Centre, 6pm – 7:30pm
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health
