The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to fixing the State’s broken health system so that Tasmanians can have access to the best quality health care.
Today, I was pleased to view a new machine in the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Department of Medical Imaging (DMI) that means less delay in diagnosis, less exposure to radiation and less interstate travel for patients.
Already installed and operating, the gallium generator unit was purchased from Belgium.
With the addition of this equipment, Tasmanians now have a state of the art nuclear medicine department that is among the best equipped and staffed in the country.
The unit is generally used to detect inflammation, infection and tumours, including various types of cancers, and will allow the Royal to perform various investigations.
As a result, patients no longer have to travel interstate for these kinds of diagnostic investigations.
This is more convenient for them and also saves a significant amount for the State, with the average cost of sending a patient to the mainland being $1419 a trip.
It is not unusual for up to five or six Tasmanians a week to require this service, so it will add up to being a sizeable saving.
Importantly, having such a unit here means less delay in diagnosis and subsequent treatment, and less exposure to radiation, leading to better outcomes for patients.
On behalf of the Government, I commend senior nuclear physician Dr Owen Pointon and senior nuclear medicine technician Mark Marcenko on their work in bringing this equipment to the Tasmanian Health Service.
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health
