Catastrophic situation at Royal Hobart Hospital a result of Hodgman’s weak leadership

• Time for Hodgman to finally admit his Health Minister isn’t up to the job
• Michael Ferguson’s comprehensive failure over four years leads to untenable flashpoint
• Hospital at highest level escalation for majority of past six weeks
• Clinicians, nurses and patients begging for help and receiving none
The latest catastrophe at the Royal Hobart Hospital overnight and today is a damning illustration of a Premier and government which has created a health crisis with no plan to fix it.
Shadow Health Minister Sarah Lovell said it was beyond time for Premier Hodgman to show leadership, show he cares, step in where his Health Minister Michael Ferguson has comprehensively failed and at least talk about providing Tasmanians with a solution to their crumbling health and hospital system.
“The Royal Hobart Hospital is today again at the highest escalation point – level four – and this has been a weekly occurrence since the beginning of June,” Ms Lovell said.
“It defies belief that Premier Hodgman is allowing Michael Ferguson to remain in control of a hospital where overnight and today – and not unusually – up to 70 patients were trapped in the emergency department, with more than 20 of them admitted but not able to access a bed.
“Frankly, it is impossible to fathom why Premier Hodgman is prepared to sit by as his failed Health Minister Mr Ferguson allows our hospitals to descend further into crisis day by day, week by week.
“This is a situation that has been on-going and building for the past four years and neither Premier Hodgman or Michael Ferguson can claim they did not have abundant warning that the chaos would only escalate.
“Michael Ferguson has created this crisis and then failed to provide the help a health workforce pushed to breaking point requires.
“Premier Hodgman has allowed a disinterested, uncaring, ignorant Health Minister to remain in the job while Tasmania’s health and hospital system has descended into chaos from which it will now take many, many years to recover.
“Premier Hodgman’s legacy will be not only a health and hospital system that was allowed to descend into crisis, but a system in which staff and patients were allowed to be placed at unacceptable risk.
“Premier Hodgman’s legacy will be as the leader of a government that refused to even acknowledge that crisis and was in fact willing to look the other way.”
Sarah Lovell MLC Shadow Health and Preventative Health Care Minister