Media release – Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Health, 30 July 2021
Health Dashboard update
The Health Dashboard update, released today, shows despite delivering more funding, more staffing and more health services than any previous government, demand is continuing to increase.
The latest data for June shows some encouraging improvements to the elective surgery waitlist, reducing from 12,271 in January, to 11,284 – a decrease of nearly 1000 people.
There is however still a long way to go, and we must always strive to do better because behind every number is a person requiring care.
Our record elective surgery blitz will ensure even more patients can get the surgery they need within the clinically recommended time. Importantly, the additional $120 million commitment made during the state election is over the term of Government, enabling longer-term planning and certainty.
A four-year elective surgery plan is currently under development, in line with our plan for our first 100 days, which will enable us to deliver an additional 22,300 elective surgeries and endoscopies.
There are now 55,085 people waiting for an outpatient appointment, which is down from 55,229 in April 2021. While COVID restrictions have had an impact, I acknowledge this is still too many.
There are more than 40,000 occasions each year where a patient is recorded as not attending a scheduled outpatient appointment, leading to underutilised capacity within the service.
While it is completely understandable that people might not always be able to attend an appointment, I’d ask anyone who is unable to make a scheduled appointment to let the service know in advance where possible so that time can be used to care for another person.
We are doing our best to try and improve the management of outpatient waiting lists and access to outpatient clinics, including:
- Using telehealth for outpatient appointments for some specialities, improving access to services and reducing the need for patients to travel, particularly from rural and remote areas;
- A more patient-friendly booking system including SMS reminders and confirmation of appointments – making it easier for patients to cancel and rebook appointments and helping to reduce the number of patients who don’t attend appointments; and
- Strengthening referral processes, so outpatient clinics get the information they need, GPs are clear about the information they need to provide and most importantly the patient’s appointment isn’t delayed.
It is pleasing to see median ambulance response times have improved from a high of 15 minutes in March 2021 to 13.7 minutes in June. We are continuing to roll out secondary triage, which sees trained paramedics and nurses provide clinical advice to Triple Zero callers, including connecting them to other health services where appropriate, reserving our ambulances and paramedics for emergency situations.
The June dashboard data reflects the heavy impact COVID-19 has had on oral health services last year when there was a period of emergency only services. This has resulted in a backlog; however, I am hopeful a one-off $5 million commitment to provide an additional 20,000 dental appointment will go a long way towards addressing this.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is committed to providing Tasmanians with the right care, in the right place, at the right time, which is why we are recruiting an additional 280 full-time equivalent staff across our health system, increasing services, and providing care in the community where appropriate.
The June Dashboard is available at: https://www.healthstats.dhhs.tas.gov.au/healthsystem.
Our Healthcare Future – Next Steps
The Tasmanian Government is committed to ensuring people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
Today, I have released the submissions received through the initial consultation phase of Our Healthcare Future, together with a report summarising the major themes to emerge and a summary of progress against the immediate actions.
The submissions express support for the key areas identified in Our Healthcare Future, specifically acknowledging support to strengthen care in the community where possible and appropriate, and a greater emphasis on preventative health. These are critical areas of investment that are being prioritised and are reflected in our recent election commitments.
The need for digital transformation, long-term infrastructure, and workforce planning to improve access to services and support new models of care are also common themes that are again reflected in funding commitments made at the state election, or work that is already being progressed. The importance of consumers and health professionals being involved in health planning is also recognised.
Other themes to emerge include the opportunity to better use District Hospitals and expansion of Community Rapid Response and Hospital in the Home services to support better community care.
This is consistent with the Tasmanian Liberal Government’s commitment of $52 million to support in-home and local community health services, and our $8.4 million boost for rural hospital staffing and equipment.
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to make a submission to Our Healthcare Future. This information will be invaluable in helping us to develop a new long-term plan for healthcare in Tasmania.
We will continue to consult with stakeholders and establish an Expert Advisory Group to guide our next steps.
Our long-term plan for health care in Tasmania will be co-designed so it includes the voices of both clinicians and patients. It will be evidence-based and include state-wide clinical services planning and detailed modelling of Tasmanians’ current and future health needs. We will also continue to implement actions set out in the Our Healthcare Future Immediate Actions and Consultation Paper.
Submissions and the Emerging Themes summary and full report are available at: www.health.tas.gov.au/ourhealthcarefuture.
Dr Bastian Seidel MLC, Shadow Health Minister, 30 July 2021
Health numbers head in wrong direction
Health System Dashboard data released today shows the deteriorating condition of Tasmania’s health system.
Shadow Health Minister Dr Bastian Seidel said today’s numbers show there are 66,000 Tasmanians on a surgery or specialist waiting list.
“The most recent dashboard update once again shows the reality facing Tasmania’s health system,” Dr Seidel said.
“Less than half of all surgeries are being performed within clinically recommended timeframes, wait times to see a specialist have blown out to an average of over 14 months and the dental waitlist is up another 300 people to over 17,000.
“Even the most urgent patients, those who are meant to be seen in 30 days, are waiting over 8 months.”
Dr Seidel said the data showed a health system in crisis.
“Tasmania’s health workers are under unbelievable pressure and they are simply not being provided the help they need to get the system back on track.
“It’s not good enough for Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff to talk about the government’s health promises when they are clearly not being delivered.
“Today’s budget report showed the government had failed to deliver $130 million of health promises, including $70 million on hospitals, $20 million on ambulances and $20 million on mental health.
“Tasmania’s health system needs real action now, not more under delivery.
“Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff must start delivering his government’s promises, not just talking about them.”
