A FOCUS ON CONSISTENT AND STRATEGIC HEALTH FUNDING IS REQUIRED
Following the announcement today by Federal Labor of further promises concerning the Tasmanian health system, AMA Tasmania President Professor John Burgess commented, “despite Labor’s Health funding announcements, we are yet to see any substantive commitment from either party to strategically and sustainably fund ongoing hospital services and hospital facility redevelopment in Tasmania.”
Professor John Burgess added, “there remains an urgent need for the next Federal Government to commit significant partnership funds to help the Tasmanian state government undertake much-needed hospital redevelopment based on the AMA supported hospital masterplan.”
“It’s particularly disappointing that to date no commitment from either party has been made for the next stages of the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment.”
Professor Burgess has previously made it clear that the AMA is hugely concerned that “our acute care hospitals are bulging at the seams with growing demand and existing staff are stretched to the limit dealing with the increasing number of patients in inadequate hospital facilities.”
“The AMA is looking for more resources to staff Tasmania’s hospitals to allow more beds to be opened on wards, to take the pressure off our emergency departments and to allow more elective surgery.”
“Tasmanians deserve high quality, accessible public health services, and political parties must support long term strategies that focus on this outcome. Our health care staff must be supported in delivering frontline care, and we need to implement a strategic plan for our public hospitals and community health services across Tasmania.”
ENDS
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