Ferguson sack pressure

TWO Tasmanians with firsthand experiences of the state’s health system have joined Labor’s calls for Health Minister Michael Ferguson to go.

Opposition health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell yesterday launched a petition calling on Premier Will Hodgman to sack Mr Ferguson and replace him.

But Mr Ferguson said the petition was a stunt and the Government would “continue to consult and listen to Tasmanians, which we have done actively for the past four years”.

Ms Lovell said the petition was “in response to the daily calls and visits we get to our offices from members of the public who are at their wits’ end”.

“[Mr Ferguson] has ignored professionals, he has ignored members of the community, he has shown absolutely no interest in hearing what they have to say,” she said.

“It’s pretty extraordinary that it’s got to the point now where doctors are speaking up in press conferences, nurses are protesting on the street everyday. It’s time for a new health minister and perhaps host a health summit or crisis talks, to take a step back and look at what really needs to happen.”

Mental health patient Brent Gray said that following a suicide attempt in February he spent eight nights in the Royal Hobart Hospital’s emergency department.

The doctors and nurses were “amazing”, he said, but the emergency department was not an appropriate place for mental health patients.

“You’ve got people screaming, you’ve got police in there, you’ve got poor children in there with their families,” he said.

“I just went from really, really bad to extremely bad,” he said. He said he attempted to take his own life again three weeks ago and spent another three days in the hospital’s emergency department. He is now being treated at a private hospital.

Mr Gray said he wrote to Mr Ferguson four weeks ago but had not received a response.

Katie Gray (no relation to Brent) spoke out last week about her brother’s experience as a mental health patient at the hospital, saying he was “shown the door and given a bus ticket” when he left the hospital.

“I couldn’t understand that this is how the health system works,” she said. “The staff are lovely, they are doing everything they can.”

Ms Gray said many people had contacted her with their own experiences of the system.

Mr Ferguson said the Government was funding more staff and more beds.

For 24/7 crisis support, contact Lifeline on 131 114 or at www.lifeline.org.au, or MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978 or at www.mensline.org.au.