Hospital struggles, patients queued

THE Royal Hobart Hospital is facing a surge in demand for emergency service and measures have been put in place to cope, the hospitals Executive Clinical Director Craig Quarmby says.

The hospital is currently operating at level four of its fourlevel escalation protocol.

“As of 11am, there were 45 patients in the emergency department, with 25 waiting for transfer to a ward,” Mr Quarmby said.

“Staff are doing everything they can to manage this demand. Patient care is being delivered in line with a normal triage protocol which means people in most need of medical care receive it as a priority. This means that some patients seeking care may wait for admission to a ward while patients with critical and lifethreatening conditions are attended to first, but care will be provided within the emergency department.”

He said demand had slowed over the last 24 hours, but there was still a high number of presentations to the Emergency Department.

Labor’s Sarah Lovell said: “Health Minister Michael Ferguson is nowhere to be seen as the crisis in Tasmania’s hospital emergency departments continues to deepen.

“Level four is designed for crisis management but it’s become an almost weekly occurrence,” Ms Lovell said.

She said that every ambulance in Hobart has been queued on the ramp at the hospital twice this week.

Premier Will Hodgman said the Government was doing what it could to meet demand.

“We do need to do more to improve health services.

“That’s why we are investing record amounts of money but also, most importantly, going to the resources that the hospital and the health service needs.”