Media release – Sarah Courtney, Minister for Health, 6 November 2020
$45 million elective surgery boost
The Tasmanian Liberal Government will provide a massive boost to the state’s elective surgery capacity in this year’s State Budget, helping more Tasmanians receive their surgery quicker.
We will invest a further $45.5 million into elective surgeries over the next 18 months, delivering more surgery for more Tasmanians, reducing waiting times, bringing down the waiting list, and driving better outcomes for patients.
This new funding, together with the previously announced $15 million provided through the Commonwealth, means our health service will deliver an estimated 8500 additional elective surgeries for the Tasmanian community over the next 18 months.
This is a huge boost to our surgery capacity, with an estimated 19,000 surgeries now planned for the 2020-21 financial year.
Importantly, this funding also means we have now delivered an additional $170.5 million for elective surgeries since 2014.
The Department of Health and surgical service leaders within the THS will work together to plan the additional surgeries and ensure they best meet the needs of the Tasmanian community.
I would like to thank Tasmanians for their patience during COVID-19 and our hardworking health workers for their continued work in supporting and caring for those in the community during a year like no other.
These have been challenging times for our health system and every day I will continue to look at how we can better protect and care for Tasmanians.
Media Release – AMA Tasmania, 6 November 2020
$45 MILLION ELECTIVE SURGERY BOOST WELCOMED
AMA Tasmania Vice President Mr Scott Fletcher said, “our elective surgery lists are at an all-time high, and any increase in funding for elective surgery is welcomed as this will help us to manage that.
We know Tasmanians are sitting on these waiting lists for far too long. In the interest of those patients, the AMA welcomes the additional health funding but would like to see this develop into long-term sustained funding that allows appropriate planning and recruitment of staff.
In these COVID times, it may well be challenging to get the locum staff required to help provide the surgery funded under this one-off boost.
Mr Scott Fletcher added, “a permanent increase in funding would let the health sector better plan and resource for the management of elective surgery within our state and alleviate our heavy reliance on locums.
“We know that investing in your workforce is better in the long term for Tasmanians.
While working through our elective surgery waiting lists would not be possible in the public system alone, we need to ensure the public system is not merely left with complex cases.
“Any Tasmanians left languishing on a record-breaking blown-out waiting list regardless of their category is in real and severe threat of developing co-morbidities, creating yet more pressure on the health system.”
Only sustained funding over the long term will assist in building public hospital staffing capacity to enable these waiting lists to be addressed and allow consistency in our delivery to help ongoing management.
Media release – Sarah Lovell MLC, Shadow Health Minister6 November 2020
Elective surgery funds welcome but long-term plan needed
Tasmanian Labor welcomes the government’s belated recognition of the state’s elective surgery backlog and action to address it but questions whether additional funds alone will actually help address the problem.
Shadow Health Minister Sarah Lovell said what is really needed is a long-term plan focussed on delivering better health outcomes for Tasmanians.
“Even before COVID-19, more than 11,000 Tasmanians were waiting for elective surgery,” Ms Lovell said.
“According to the latest health system dashboard there are now 11,342 people on the waiting list.
“Labor is pleased to see this additional government funding to try to get people off waiting lists and into hospital beds.
“But questions remain about how the promised extra 120 procedures a week can be delivered with hospitals already operating at and beyond capacity.
“Without action on bed block, there is a risk that this surgical blitz will target low-risk, less complex procedures, leaving those with more complex and dangerous conditions waiting even longer.
“It is also important that we have adequate funding and resources for continuity of services like outpatients’ clinics to ensure Tasmanians can access early management of their condition and potentially avoid surgery.
“There is no doubt that extra funds are needed. But we also need a long-term, comprehensive plan that delivers better health outcomes and a better health system for all Tasmanians.”
