Ferguson ignoring frontline nursing staff on Royal Hobart Hospital beds crisis

 Minister must start paying attention to workers at the coalface
 Pleas for action to prevent beds crisis falling on Ferguson’s deaf ears
 Minister had more than two years to plan and failed to put safety strategy in place

Ignorant Health Minister Michael Ferguson is disregarding the genuine concerns of frontline nursing staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital about a looming beds crisis so completely that they have launched their own campaign.

Shadow Health and Preventative Care Minister Rebecca White said it was shameful that the on-going debacle around Mr Ferguson’s hospital redevelopment had reached the point where nursing staff have had to take matters into their own hands.

“Michael Ferguson can see that staff are so distressed and so worried that they have launched their Wear Red To Save A Bed campaign,” Ms White said.

“Michael Ferguson can see that demand at the hospital is increasing at the same time beds are decreasing.

“This Minister can see that patients are waiting up to 40 hours in the Emergency Department to be assigned a bed.

“He knows that there will be a reduction of beds during a decant of patients later this month in preparation for the demolition of B Block, pushing nursing staff to breaking point.

“But he still refuses to listen and he still refuses to admit that he has got it so badly wrong.

“What’s so startling about this alarming situation is that Mr Ferguson has had more than two years to plan for the decant of patients and the demolition of hospital wards.

“But there has been no planning for safe patient care and there has been no strategy around how to cope with a reduction in hospital beds.

“He simply cannot be allowed to continue to ignore the frontline which is pleading with him for a solution.

“He cannot be allowed to continue to tell the Tasmanian community that he knows best when the crisis is clear to everyone who works at the hospital and everyone who depends on it for medical care.

“The genuine concerns of nursing staff and the fact they have had to go to the length of launching a campaign so they can finally be heard should be more than enough to make Mr Ferguson finally listen and should be ringing loud alarm bells for the Premier and his government.”
Rebecca White MP Shadow Health and Preventative Care Minister