The release today of the final health White Paper marks a significant turning point for health in Tasmania.
The White Paper is the culmination of the most open and transparent conversation a Government has ever had with the Tasmanian people about the extent to which our health system is broken.
The Hodgman Liberal Government will not sit by and allow Tasmanians to continue to suffer some of the worst health outcomes in Australia.
Through the six-month consultation process, we have heard from thousands of Tasmanians from all parts of our state.
Their message is clear: we must reject the idea of keeping the status quo – a health system which is regionally divided, inefficient and, despite the best efforts of our skilled medical professionals, cannot deliver better treatment for Tasmanians.
The premise of health reform outlined in the Exposure Draft released earlier this year remains. Each of our major hospitals should have a specialised role delivering the services for all Tasmanians that they are each best equipped to safely provide.
This means consolidation of some complex surgeries, critical care and birthing to the hospitals which have the required range of specialist expertise and facilities to deliver them safely, and respond immediately to any deterioration in a patient’s condition.
However, there are some key changes in the final White Paper from the Exposure Draft, including:
Importantly, birthing services at the Mersey will continue for the next twelve months to ensure that no women who are currently pregnant will be affected by this decision.
As part of this change, the Government will invest in additional transport and accommodation support including for mothers and their families travelling for maternity services.
The Liberal Government’s $24 million investment in patient transport is also detailed in a companion document to the White Paper. This investment, which addresses some long-standing service gaps in patient transport and assists Tasmanians to access the services they need, will see:
These changes show that the Government has genuinely consulted and listened to the community and has been guided by health experts since the release of the Green Paper.
The White Paper also addresses the important role that preventative health needs to play in improving health outcomes. This will be guided by the comprehensive five-year preventative health strategy currently being formulated by the Healthy Tasmania Committee, part of the Health Council of Tasmania.
The Government is also committed to enhancing the role of primary care, and our rural and regional health centres and hospitals. All of these facilities will form part of a single statewide health system, and there will be a greater emphasis on coordinating and strengthening the links between major hospitals and other providers of health care around the state.
It is important to understand that the changes to services outlined in the White Paper should not and will not be rushed. There are a number of changes which can begin to be implemented immediately, such as increased elective surgery at the Mersey, implementation of the Northern Integrated Cancer Service and the Northern Integrated Surgical Service, increased outreach services from the LGH, improved coordination of statewide trauma services, and improvements in the use of telehealth.
However, no changes will be made until the appropriate staffing, support and resources are in place. This means that the Tasmanian Health Service will progressively roll out changes in a way which delivers outcomes and minimises disruption to patients and staff.
The order of priorities will be determined from a patient care and patient safety perspective. The THS will develop a full implementation plan by October this year.
I would like to thank our dedicated health professionals for their patience and support as we work with them to fix the broken system. I would also like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has contributed to the frank and honest conversation around health over the past year, which has enabled us to identify the problems and the solutions which we will now put into place.
The white paper can be found online at http://www.onehealthsystem.tas.gov.au/