Harness state’s new energy to change how we approach health

Government needs to explain impact of budget cuts as well as focus more on prevention, says Bruce Levett

WHEN I returned to Tasmania with my family last year after 18 years away, I found my home state had changed.

There are many changes, but the one thing that stands out for me is energy – our industries have energy. Just look at tourism; the number of cruise ships visiting; there is Mona and what people now call the “Mona effect”; and our population is growing creating a busyness around our housing stock and infrastructure.

You can see cranes on the horizon. Some economists count them and see more cranes as an indicator of growth. I remember a time when seeing a crane in Hobart or Launceston was quite unusual. Coming back to Tasmania, I’ve seen more cranes around our hospitals than ever before, so it seems fair to conclude the state’s new-found energy extends to our health infrastructure.

In fact, the public conversation about health had shifted. Before I left Tasmania, the common questions were: Should we spend money on health? Can we afford it? Now, the questions have evolved: Was that a good investment in health? Should we do more?

Everyone will have their own views on whether, for example, the decision to renovate verses build a new hospital in Hobart was optimal. For me, a decision was made, and we are moving forward. Attitudes had changed, or so I thought.

Travelling around Tasmania and talking to people in the community, I see people wanting to engage and continue a conversation about health and wellbeing. Tasmanians have told me that our state needs to consider a focus on “local health solutions including community services, prevention and education” and the need for “resourced and valued” preventive health.

Unfortunately, by announcing cuts to the health budget, the State Government has taken the community conversation back to focusing on how much our health system is worth and at the same time offered no explanations to the community on what the impact these budget cuts will have on patient and community health outcomes.

Current evidence points to a characterisation of a Tasmanian who typically smokes more than other Australians, tends to be more overweight and obese on average than those who live on the mainland and therefore, is more prone to suffering chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

Tasmania also has a higher proportion of its people who are not as well off financially as the average Australian. In 2016, of all the states and territories, Tasmania had the highest share (33 per cent) of

people living in areas ranked as the most disadvantaged according to the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Add to that a Tasmanian unemployment rate that’s higher than the national rate. These Tasmanians often face additional challenges accessing health services when they need it. They also have a right to ask what impact these changes to the health budget may have on them.

The Tasmanian community isn’t comfortable with this new policy position offered by government. My conversations with people around Tasmania show that while the public expect safe and quality health care when they do get sick, many people want governments to think more broadly when it comes to health and health care.

They are telling me that it’s important to “keep people supported in their community by understanding their needs so they don’t end up in the acute sector”. That is, hospital.

This means more energy needs to be put into solutions that focus on disease prevention and selfmanagement rather than spending all our time and resources on treating people when they get sick.

Tasmanians recognise that governments together with communities need to invest in health to reduce the likelihood of people getting sick in the first place.

A state that was searching for that spark of energy when I left Tasmania back in 2000, in my view now has it.

As we come to the end of another year, the questions now become —

How do we harness this new-found energy so that it translates not just economically, but into our Tasmanian unique way of life?

And how can we become a state where all people in all communities are energised to be the healthiest in the country?