The Hodgman Liberal Government is continuing the work rebuilding Tasmania’s health system.
We have invested a record amount in our health system, but to get better outcomes more needs to be done.
With the economy growing and the Budget coming back under control, we can now invest the dividends of this into the core business of government, such as health.
This week 56 additional Tasmanians underwent elective surgery as a result of the opening up of new theatres opening on Monday and an increase in existing theatres capacity.
At the Launceston General Hospital’s two new theatres, 41 additional surgeries have taken place including ENT, plastics, urology and general surgery.
Including this activity, it is expected that 1000 additional procedures will be performed at LGH this financial year.
At the Royal Hobart Hospital this week, 15 Tasmanians, who would otherwise have still been on the waiting list, received their surgeries as a result of the hospital opening up new theatre sessions.
Including this week’s activity, I expect the RHH will perform an additional 250 surgeries over the remainder of this financial year, which is the equivalent of running an extra standalone theatre.
The additional theatre capacity coupled with the use of private contracts will enable the THS to meet its ambitious 2015-16 targets.
These improvements will be complemented by the dedicated elective surgery service we are establishing at the Mersey, which commenced in September 2015 with an additional 300 additional endoscopy procedures performed at MCH each year.
The Mersey 23 hour surgical service will be fully implemented in July this year.