Labor has a plan to fix health
The Opposition has listened to complaints about the health system and has solutions, says Rebecca White
Tasmanians who have had to access the state’s hospitals over the past three years — and the hardworking doctors, nurses and other health professionals who work in the system — could not be blamed for reaching an unfortunate conclusion. And that conclusion is that either the incumbent Liberal Government just does not care about our public health system or considers it such a low priority that it is prepared to sacrifice the wellbeing of Tasmanians for the bottom line. The resulting crisis has hit hard at patients and it has hit hard at staff. During Budget Estimates we finally had an admission from the Premier that there is a crisis in health in Tasmania. After refusing to listen to clinical staff who know best and after cutting funding, it is only now — on the eve of an election — the Government has finally attempted to stem the bleeding with funding in this year’s Budget which is welcome and essential but which Tasmanians would be right to believe is only an afterthought.
The sudden leap to put money back into our hospitals is designed to fix a political problem, not a human problem.
It is deeply cynical. And, the fact is it will not stem the crisis with the vast majority of beds the Health Minister says will help alleviate pressure on Emergency Departments not due to open for some time — some as far as 18 months away.
Labor’s Economic Direction Statement which sets out the priorities for a Labor budget from 2018 has, for these reasons, a particular emphasis on Tasmania’s ailing health system and how to fix it. It contains sensible, workable, implementable solutions and demonstrates how much they will cost and how they will be paid for.
It prioritises expenditure in critical areas to support the urgent needs of Tasmania over the budget bottom line while maintaining a surplus across the forward estimates.
It does the work that an incumbent government should be doing.
I’ve travelled extensively throughout Tasmania over the past three years and everywhere I go Tasmanians tell me their first concern is the health and hospital system.
Illness and emergency is simply not being treated with the urgency that illness and emergency requires.
We have a better health plan for Tasmania.
That includes a plan to keep Tasmanians healthier for longer, get sick Tasmanians treated faster and, importantly, to get them back home to their families sooner.
It’s widely accepted — and based on evidence — that the best way to take pressure off the health system and keep it off is to plan for healthcare which starts from birth and takes Tasmanians right through to old age.
Every dollar spent on keeping Tasmanians healthy and out of hospital saves hundreds of dollars down the track.
That’s why a majority Labor government will establish a healthy communities commission which will be empowered through legislation to change the way we target preventable disease.
It will identify Tasmanians most at risk of developing preventable diseases and fund initiatives to tackle obesity, smoking and lack of exercise.
To free up our hospital system and create a healthier Tasmania, we start at the beginning.
We will refocus the activities of school nurses and Child Health and Parenting nurses to ensure that every Tasmanian child receives regular basic health checks and is monitored from birth through primary school.
Right now there is an urgent need to address the shortage of beds in our hospitals. One way to help take pressure off the hospital system and free up beds is to extend services seven days a week so that when patients are ready to go home they can be discharged from the hospital safely. Part of the problem is discharge rates decrease significantly at weekends.
Labor will fund a discharge co-ordination nurse seven days a week in each hospital. We will extend services like radiology, medical imaging, allied health and pharmacy to ensure patients can access these services during evening hours and weekends to help make discharge faster so patients can go home sooner.
Labor will invest more in our community health services to make sure that community transport and community nursing services are available seven days a week. This will help people get home sooner with the support they need.
We would also work with our regional hospitals and aged-care providers to transition older people waiting for a package of care out of hospital to an appropriate facility.
Labor also acknowledges
that medihotels play an important role in other states to compliment the work that happens in our hospitals and we will contract beds following a tender process. Medihotels provide 24/7 nursing care to patients who require access to hospital services without the need for acute nursing care or an inpatient bed.
Medihotels will be not used in place of emergency care or to look after very sick patients — they offer a way to care for patients who are not quite ready to go home because they might be recuperating postsurgery, waiting for medication to be dispensed or waiting for tests. By providing more beds close to hospitals for patients who no longer need to be on a ward, beds can be freed up for patients with more serious medical needs.
I understand this component of our plan is the one that has sparked the biggest conversation.
But it is based on a wellestablished care model that’s used interstate and overseas.
This is an effective, sensible way to take pressure off hospitals by freeing up beds while keeping patients in those situations close to a hospital.
Right now there are simply not enough beds in our hospitals and, with the redevelopment affecting the Royal Hobart Hospital for the next two years, immediate solutions must be found.
These are just some of the practical solutions that will work to provide better care to patients and better support for our hard-working staff.
Labor will continue to work with health professionals, the unions and patients of our hospital system to make sure our health system can meet the needs of the Tasmanian community.
I’ve travelled extensively throughout Tasmania over the past three years and everywhere I go Tasmanians tell me their first concern is the health and hospital system.