Peak bodies join forces to ‘Save the Royal’

AMA Tasmania and the ANMF Tasmanian branch have today launched a campaign to lobby State Health Minister Michael Ferguson to address the continuous under-resourcing issues at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The ‘Save the Royal’ campaign will see thousands of postcards distributed to AMA and ANMF members, as well as RHH staff and patients.
All the postcards are addressed to the Hobart office of Minister Ferguson and urge him to take immediate action to address the lack of patient beds at the Royal and to increase staff numbers to adequately cover the current patient flow and long waiting lists. This is even more important during the B block demolition and the construction of the new main building.
AMA Tasmania Council Chair Dr Chris Middleton said that for too long the RHH has struggled to meet the needs of the Tasmanian public.
“The RHH has only 45 per cent of the beds in Tasmania but 55 per cent of the workload,” said Dr Middleton.
“The message is simple; we need more beds and the nurses to staff them at the RHH.
“These measures will enable the timely and safe flow of patients out of the Emergency Department whilst allowing elective patients into RHH for their procedures.
“Inadequate bed numbers and poor planning for peak demand periods lead to long waits in the Emergency Department, elective surgical cancellations, and patients being placed at significant risk of increased sickness and death.”
AMA Tasmania Council Chair Dr Chris Middleton