Derwent sick of health services
PATIENTS are demanding a fix to the Derwent Valley healthcare crisis in a 3000-signature petition put before parliament.
The petition was instigated by New Norfolk resident Bill Dermody, whose previous petition was thrown out by parliament due to red tape.
He had previously collected 2200 signatures from local townsfolk, but was told 1400 were ineligible because they had signed their names on the back of the page.
This time however, he has collected more than 3000 signatures – more than half the population of New Norfolk.
Mr Dermody said residents were sick of the lack of medical services, with patients waiting up to six weeks just to see a GP.
He said the waiting lists would undoubtedly grow even longer, following the closure of the Ouse clinic and the retirement of two senior doctors in the region.
Mr Dermody said the New Norfolk hospital was also chronically understaffed and under-resourced, and that the government showed no interest in rectifying the situation.
“People can’t see a GP outside Monday to Friday and there’s no after-hours medical or health services in the whole of the Derwent Valley or Central Highlands,” Mr Dermody said.
“[Health Minister] Sarah Courtney refused to meet up with me and the community to
discuss the reason for the petition. Guy Barnett straight up ignored it.”
The petition was tabled by Labor Minister Rebecca White, who said regional healthcare systems needed urgent reforms.
One of those is a review of the Modified Monash Model, which has stripped health subsidies from many Tasmanian clinics that are no longer considered rural enough under the new system.
“The Modified Monash Model is not working for regional Tasmania. It is not helping the doctor practices recruit the staff they need,” Ms White said.
“It is making it difficult to provide the incentive to recruit doctors to regional and rural Tasmania.”
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said he was writing to his federal counterparts to see what could be done about the current MMM system.
“I am writing to the federal health minister to determine what further support may be able to be provided,” Mr Rockliff said.