Health Minister ignores vital need to restore Allied Health …

… PROFESSIONALS TO THE TASMANIAN HEALTH SERVICE

HEALTH MINISTER MICHAEL FERGUSON HAS ANNOUNCED ADDITIONAL BEDS TO ADDRESS THE CRISIS IN THE TASMANIAN HEALTH SERVICE, BUT HAS IGNORED THE URGENT NEED FOR MORE ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SERVICES!

Tasmanian Allied Health Professionals, who were among the most affected by budget cuts, have reacted angrily to being overlooked by the Health Minister’s latest announcement.

Many Allied Health Professional positions have been removed because the Government has not replaced staff who have left or who are on extended leave. The severe lack of health professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, radiographers, dieticians, psychologists and socials workers is having an enormous detrimental effect on patient outcomes in our health system.

HACSU Assistant Secretary Robbie Moore said, “We now have a lack of vital services which has resulted in patients and clients not receiving optimal treatment, and caused longer hospital stays and patients needing to be readmitted.

“HACSU has directly raised these concerns with the Health Minister and is extremely disappointed that the State Government did not listen.”

“We call on the State Government to urgently allocate funding to reinstate all Allied Health Professional positions lost over the past few years,” said Robbie Moore. “We also call on the Government to include funding for additional positions. This will facilitate getting people out of the acute hospital system sooner though intensive treatment and rehabilitation and help prevent people entering the hospital system in the first place.”
HACSU ASSISTANT STATE SECRETARY, ROBBIE MOORE