Ferguson’s solution to mental health crisis: Throw patients in jail

 Health Minister shows callous disregard for patients and staff
 Emergency Departments struggling to cope with high numbers of presentations
 Ferguson talks politics when he should be talking care
Cold-hearted Health Minister Michael Ferguson has laid bare his disregard for Tasmanians battling mental ill-health claiming that patients who require care should be locked in jail.
Questioned about a Code Black emergency at the Royal Hobart Hospital at the weekend in which an acutely unwell mental health patient required sedation, Mr Ferguson said:
“(It) again vindicates what the government has wanted to do by changing the law to protect our workers from assault. Now every time I hear about a Code Black or an assault against one of our serving paramedics I think about what we can do about it. What we could do about it is change the law and have a stronger deterrent effect of being able to send a message to a person that if you attack one of our staff, you’ll go to jail.”
Shadow Minister for Mental Health Sarah Lovell said it was appalling that Mr Ferguson would automatically politicise a tragic situation at the same time mental health patients were stuck in Emergency Departments, unable to progress to a ward because of his cuts to hospital beds.
“It’s just dreadful that the Health Minister would flip to the Hodgman Government’s lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key stance when he was addressing the fact that hospital staff were trying to cope with a patient who clearly needed urgent help,” Ms Lovell said.
“At this time on Sunday, there were six patients suffering mental ill-health in the Emergency Department because there were no beds available in a situation that is becoming all too common.
“It’s inappropriate, insensitive and completely uncaring to suggest the solution to dealing with patients suffering mental ill-health is to throw them in jail.
“The Health Minister cannot spin his way out of this. He would know that mental ill-health patients are sometimes involved in incidents at our hospitals.
“The Health Minister needs to apologise.”
Sarah Lovell MLC Shadow Minister for Mental Health