This week a lot has been said, and promised, about health. Earlier this week we did a round-up on elective surgeries. Here we’ll add what has been released since, by party.
Media release – Tasmanian Liberals, 7 April 2021
Liberals Commit To Future Of The Mersey Through Redevelopment Expansion
Over the next four years, a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government will expand the Mersey Community Hospital Redevelopment, with a further investment of $20 million to provide a total upgrade of $55 million, the most significant redevelopment in the hospital’s history.
The upgrades include a new kitchen, with state-of-the-art equipment; a new ward; and it would provide more bed capacity.
Premier Peter Gutwein said this will provide the protection and certainty the community deserves.
“Since coming to Government, we have made significant investments into the Mersey, including new palliative care and rehabilitation facilities, ante and post-natal facilities, lifts, car parks, and a new helipad,” the Premier said.
>“A re-elected majority Liberal Government guarantees to not only retain the Mersey, but commit to at least the same level of funding and continued investment in improved services and facilities.”
Minister for Health, Sarah Courtney, said it would also include provision of a temporary surgical theatre.
“This will allow surgery to continue, while planned theatre upgrades take place, reducing service disruption from the ongoing redevelopment,” she said.
“It took a Tasmanian Liberal majority Government to secure the future of the Mersey Community Hospital.
“Unlike the Shadow Health Minister, who believes we have too many hospitals and has said the Mersey only “exists due to political pork barrelling and parochialism”, a re-elected Liberal majority Government will guarantee to retain the Mersey as a community hospital for the North-West region.”
Planning and consultation for these increased works will get underway immediately, with additional works expected to commence in 2022 and take three years to complete.
$60 Million Redevelopment Of The North-West Regional Hospital
We have significantly bolstered investment in health since 2014 and a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government will continue to build better health services to secure Tasmania’s future.
Over the next 10 years, we will undertake a major redevelopment of the North-West Regional Hospital to meet future demand.
Premier Peter Gutwein said this significant upgrade of the Burnie hospital is the first in decades.
“We will allocate $60 million for the first stage of the redevelopment, which will comprise of:
– $40 million for the first stage of a new Mental Health Precinct, adjacent to the NWRH, to replace the ageing Spencer Clinic; and – $20 million to provide ward upgrades, with space freed up from the moving of the Spencer Clinic, which will provide additional bed capacity for the NWRH.
“It is expected that this Stage will be completed in 2025,” the Premier said.
Minister for Health Sarah Courtney said while this occurs, $500,000 will be provided for an updated masterplan for the North West Regional Hospital and local health facilities.
“We will consult with the local community, key stakeholders, clinicians and hospital staff and health consumers, on the second stage of the redevelopment,” Minister Courtney said.
“Subject to this consultation, this is expected to include a second stage of the Mental Health precinct, which will include the co-location of community services to provide integrated care.”
It is estimated this will cost a further $40 million and will be considered as part of future Budget processes, once consultation and design are finalised.
Doubling treatment capacity for cancer patients in the North-West
On top of this exciting new redevelopment, we will deliver a second Linear Accelerator at the North-West Regional Hospital to meet demand for cancer patients on the Coast, investing $8.1 million over the next four years to operate and staff.
Premier Peter Gutwein said the North-West Cancer Centre in Burnie was opened in 2016, and it took a Liberal majority Government to fund these critical services for North-West cancer patients.
“Since opening, the Centre has saved thousands of Tasmanians and their families the trip back and forth from Launceston for care,” he said. Minister Courtney said the Australian Government recently provided $4.4 million to purchase a second linear accelerator for the North-West.
“With increasing demand and an estimated 430 new cancer patients requiring radiation therapy or chemotherapy each year on the North-West, a second linear accelerator will effectively double our current capacity,” she said.
“And an estimated 12 full-time equivalent staff will be recruited to operate the new linear accelerator, which is expected to be installed and operational in 2022.”
The North West Cancer Centre was established with significant financial support from the Elphinstone Foundation, which has continued to support the NWRH in recent years with support for a new lung function laboratory, better stroke care and an echocardiogram to improve cardiac care on the coast.
The Tasmanian majority Liberal Government has already delivered more funding, more staff and more health services than any Government before.
We are now investing $9.8 billion on health – $4 billion more than the Labor-Green Government in 2013-14.
We thank the staff at both the North-West Regional Hospital and the Mersey Community Hospital for their hard work and tireless dedication to providing world class care, which will be further supported by this significant investment.
We also recognise the importance of preventative health, mental health, ambulance and rural health, and we will be releasing plans in these areas shortly.
8 April 2021
Memorandum Of Understanding To Secure The Future Of The Royal Flying Doctor Service In Tasmania
A re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government will commence good faith negotiations with the Royal Flying Doctor Service within our first 30 days of taking office, on a long-term strategic partnership to support health services in Tasmania.
This will ensure the important services that the RFDS provides to rural and regional communities across the State can continue into the future, including aero-medical flight services, as well as primary health care in rural and regional areas, with a particular focus on dental and mental health.
The MoU signed today includes a $300,000 commitment in 2021-22 to the RFDS to support the provision of oral health services in regional Tasmania, with an initial focus on the West Coast, Huon Valley and Central Tasmania.
A long-term partnership will also allow the RFDS to undertake aircraft and infrastructure upgrades, ensuring they have what they need for the future.
The Government has been a strong supporter of the RFDS for many years, and this agreement will lock in the service for the long term, providing certainty for those Tasmanians in rural and regional areas that need it.
We are committed to building better health services to Secure Tasmania’s Future, and this MoU will add to the commitments we have made this week, right across the State, to ensure Tasmanians have access to the health services they need, when and where they need it.
9 April 2021
How Many Surgeries, Ms White?
The so-called health policy announced today by Ms White has one glaring omission – it fails to detail how many additional elective surgeries a Labor-Green minority government would achieve.
Ms White announced more staff (remember, Labor sacked 280 nurses the last time they were in office) and a pie-in-the-sky plan to magically build a whole new hospital in just two years (remember, in 10 years they didn’t lay a brick at the new Royal), but no detail about how many patients will be treated.
So please do tell, exactly how many elective surgeries does your so-called policy deliver, Ms White?
Or is this simply a bad episode of Yes Minister – a new hospital and more staff, but without any patients?
Media release – Rebecca White MP, Labor Leader & Dr Bastian Seidel MLC, Shadow Health Minister, 9 April 2021
Labor to build Stage 3 of RHH Masterplan within four years
A majority Labor Government would begin work on redeveloping the Repatriation Hospital from day one of its term.
A total of $390 million has been committed to complete Stage 3 of the existing Royal Hobart Hospital masterplan by establishing a second campus at the former Repatriation Hospital site.
The fully costed plan includes a state-of-the-art mental health facility, new day surgery and endoscopy units, and new rehabilitation and palliative inpatient care units.
Labor’s ambitious construction timeline would see patients begin to be treated within two years of the project’s commencement with construction to be fully completed by 2025.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said the biggest issue facing Tasmania’s public hospitals was a lack of space.
“Under the Liberal Party our emergency departments have become overcrowded and overwhelmed which puts so much pressure on our hardworking health staff,” Ms White said.
“This results in a massive backlog of untreated cases in the community, which is growing by the day and severely impacting the health of Tasmanians.
“Our plan to redevelop the Repatriation Hospital site will allow the transfer of key services from the RHH, opening up more space for emergency and specialist beds.”
Shadow Health Minister Dr Bastian Seidel said Tasmanian hospitals have the worst wait times for specialist beds in the country.
“The Liberal Party has dithered on this issue for far too long,” Dr Seidel said.
“If elected, we will get straight to work on solving the crisis the Liberals have created in Tasmania’s hospitals and on redeveloping this site to give Tasmanians the medical care they require.”
Labor will solve the Liberals’ waiting list mess once and for all
Labor has today unveiled a $137 million plan to fix the Liberals’ health crisis in Tasmania’s hospitals and clear the out-of-control elective surgery and outpatient waitlists with more doctors, more appointments and less waiting time.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said with waitlists blowing out by more than 70 per cent since 2018, Tasmania cannot afford another four years under the Gutwein Government which has over the past seven years turned the state’s health system into a disaster in which Tasmanians are literally dying waiting for help.
“Tasmania’s health system simply will not survive under more neglect and a continued, determined lack of action by the Gutwein Government,” Ms White said.
“That is why this election is so vital – Tasmanians have a crucial choice between Labor’s plan to solve this mess or more of the same broken promises and thought bubbles from the Liberals.
“Our fully costed $137 million plan will mean more doctors, more appointments and less waiting.
“It means more people will receive the health care they need when they need it and closer to home, providing a higher standard of care.
“It means an additional 65 permanent doctors – including 35 medical specialists and 30 surgical specialists – across the state to clear the elective surgery and outpatient waitlist
“It means an additional 150 nurses and midwives across the state to improve standard of patient care. It means getting Tasmanians out of impossible situations where they are living in chronic pain waiting for help that will remain years away under the Liberals.”
Shadow Health Minister Dr Bastian Seidel said Labor’s plan would also prioritise screening for patients with suspected cancer, guaranteeing that they will be seen within two weeks.
“Under the Gutwein Government nationally agreed targets, particularly in relation to bowel cancer, are not being met, with less than 20 per cent of referred patients with suspected cancer being seen on time,” Dr Seidel said.
“The fact is every election the Liberals attempt to con Tasmanians that they will throw more and more taxpayer’s money to fix the crisis they have created in Tasmania’s hospitals, but Tasmanians end up with more of the same chaos.
“The Gutwein Government has now tried it on again, attempting to roll out health policy which really does question why they have failed to invest in health over the last seven years. In the meantime, tens of thousands of Tasmanians are literally living in pain every day waiting to access health care and in some terrible circumstances literally dying.”
Key points:
A Majority Labor Government will;
- Employ an additional 65 permanent Doctors (35 medical specialists and 30 surgical specialists) across the state to clear the elective surgery and outpatient waitlist
- Employ an additional 150 Nurses and Midwives across the state to improve standard of patient care
- Invest in a major IT upgrade to enhance telehealth and online health services
Media release – Dr Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Health spokesperson, 7 April 2021
Greens Release Plan to Invest in Community Health
Individual health and wellness is the foundation of a healthy community. Too many Tasmanians suffer from chronic conditions and too many end up in an over-stretched hospital system.
On behalf of the Greens I was proud to release our community health plan. Investing in preventative health services keeps people healthier and out of hospitals.
More than 12 000 Tasmanians are currently languishing in pain on the elective surgery waiting list. When patients arrive at the Emergency Department, they wait hours for assessment by dedicated hospital staff who are stretched to the limit.
Properly funding health services located in communities across Tasmania, and targeted prevention programs, will save lives.
Our plan funds an extra 50 allied health professionals and social workers in areas of critical need in community health centres across lutruwita/Tasmania.
The types of services people in communities need include counselling and support, podiatry, physiotherapy, dieticians, occupational therapy, hearing and speech therapy. These essential services must be available and affordable.
Our plan also includes $3 million a year towards a grants program for community-based preventative health initiatives.
This investment in community health will take the pressure off the hospital emergency departments, and mean fewer people ending up on elective surgery waiting lists.
An investment in community health is an investment in the Tasmanian people. It’s an investment we can and must afford.
