TALKING POINT

Iam someone who is prepared to stand up to represent the arguments of those who feel they are no longer listened to.

In this case it is specialists, doctors, GPs, nurses, carers, orderlies, cleaners and all the vital healthcare people with unheard, exhausted and, quite frankly, desperate voices. Fear of reprisal stifles some voices.

Our health department is an extremely complex system. It is not my field of expertise.

Nevertheless, given our small and finely balanced Tasmanian Parliament, I have found myself in a very difficult situation. Because I have been outspoken, I am seen as a voice of reason, someone who will listen to all sides.

Only the Government thinks the system can do more with less. By all reports the Royal Hobart Hospital is underfunded by about $100 million a year. Demand has increased 4-plus per cent but funding has increased by less than 2 per cent.

The Government continues to bake the same failing cake, without considering the recipe to be wrong.

Contrary to myth, I consider myself a member of this Government, but I will still hold it to account. I am worried my colleagues are not getting the whole truth about how bad our health system really is.

I stood for parliament to make a difference. I cannot be a good person who stands by and does nothing.

Daily I am contacted by people pouring their hearts out about their fears, their worries about preventable deaths, lack of beds and lack of funds or funding going to the wrong areas, not addressing simple fixes, and facing a wall of resistance, where they are simply given token hearings.

But these rumblings are shaking the very foundations of our health system.

We are losing good staff, we are not caring for those who cling on because of their sense of duty, and mateship, and we are daily at risk of preventable deaths, which is extremely demoralising for these staff. And where would the Government stand if a legal claim was made?

The rumblings have become a roar and a catastrophe is here and now.

It is time to roll up the sleeves, remove obstructive dead wood, stop blaming and grab the best minds of the health sector and thrash out the solutions. A big, bold, brave and accountable government might consider tri-partisan involvement.

The system needs an urgent circuit-breaker. It needs the Premier!

Chronic underfunding is a core problem, but so are delays on the RHH K Block build and protracted wage negotiations, which is affecting morale and creating work stoppages.

I hear the lack of orderlies means delays in getting people to X-rays and to prepare beds for the next urgent patient.

Our hospital is short of cleaners. A patient cannot be transferred from Emergency to a bed until the room has been cleaned and the risk of infection eliminated.

Many nurses are on contracts which prevent them getting housing loans which in turn creates job insecurity. I am advised the RHH has had to fly in contracted agency nursing staff and provide them with accommodation.

I believe the Government is finally addressing this issue, but it needs to complete this sooner rather than later.

While I have a private sector background where I understand the necessity for a surplus for business and investment confidence, government is effectively a not-for-profit organisation.

This comes with the obligation to take care of our sick and frail.

The Government is justifiably bragging about its economic prowess compared to other states. It deserves credit for capitalising on good fortune such as the global and national economy and strong results in manufacturing and tourism but it is still fair that their management of these events should be applauded.

I qualify this with a very big “but”. Budgets and surpluses can be subject to creative accounting, and the last big publicity event of investment of $105 million was no more than changing the estimate to reflect spent funds. There was no new money! It does not mean more beds, doctors, nurses, orderlies or cleaners. They remain on life support with a hospital system stretched beyond capacity and any hope of a fully operational K block likely two years away.

At a media announcement for women’s health, the Health Minister was “hijacked” by specialist Frank O’Keefe, who said the hospital system was like a car on the blocks. It couldn’t go anywhere, and was basically in need of urgent surgery because it is stuffed! He said throwing money at the problem was not necessarily the answer unless it was spent on beds. Fully staffed beds.

I am a believer in addressing concerns with the people at the coal face. To undo the mess will take many conversations but in the meantime there is so much low hanging fruit. Invest quickly to stop the Emergency Department block. This might mean changing triaging where some patients could be seen in the Wellington Clinics which are not used after normal hours and if possible patients could be bulk billed.

Patients with drug or alcohol problems could be moved to another area for assessment, better management, and less stress to patients waiting for a seat or indeed a turn on the floor.

Perhaps encourage more 24-hour super clinics which bulk bill (federal money) in Glenorchy, Kingston and Clarence. These could be after hours in existing facilities.

Facilities for mental health patients are needed now, not another two years for the Peacock Centre rebuild and a small facility to replace Mistral Place. Twenty-four beds will not help when you need 100.

I am embarrassed when I hear of $104 million over six years for mental health. Seriously? Which year will it be spent, what will we get and will the Government be there to see it through?

Hospital in the Home is in trial mode. It is not for all.

With our population’s everincreasing needs — diabetes, obesity, mental health, agerelated complications and poor health choices — the situation must have a multipronged attack, including educating people.

It would be good to have patient discharge sheets sent

Daily I am contacted by people pouring their hearts out about their fears, their worries about preventable deaths, lack of beds

to GPs within 24 hours to avoid relapses and returns.

Why is the hospital pharmacy not staffed 24 hours a day?

We should be reviewing nurse, carer and orderly training. TAFE is funding 25 enrolled nurse training positions when there are 200 people applying for a placement. We need more conversations with the University of Tasmania.

This is one of those nobrainers that can be rapidly fixed by the Premier, Treasurer and Education Minister.

The health system is like a jigsaw puzzle. From cleaners, orderlies to medical staff and the terrible burden (not to mention sheer economic waste) of ramped ambulances is where a “right now, wait for nothing” circuit-breaker is needed. I am not trying to be alarmist, I don’t need to be.

Daily news bulletins, screams from opposition parties, letters from the public and a mobilising army of nurses and doctors are about to storm the Government if they are not listened to.

I also believe the balance between bloated administration and frontline services needs addressing.

We don’t need more reports (especially when governments refuse to hand them to the Legislative Council).

There are many mainland hospitals doing the same work with better outcomes we could learn from.

I know there are some wellintentioned, hardworking public servants who are giving there all to make the system work but we must accept that efforts to date have not had the desired outcome.

To finish with another quote: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”