Cardiac Super Clinic makes dent in waitlist

A pilot Cardiac Super Clinic held over the weekend has slashed the outpatient waitlist by almost 200 patients in one day, as the Tasmanian Government pulls out all stops to build a better health system.

The Super Clinic was a first as part of an innovative pilot aimed at reducing outpatient waiting lists.

Held at the Royal Hobart Hospital Wellington Clinics, the Super Clinic saw a total of 196 patients from Southern Tasmania on the same day in a ‘one-stop-shop’ for patients on the waiting list for cardiology consultations and diagnostic services.

Minister for Health, Mental Health, and Wellbeing, Guy Barnett, said it demonstrated the Tasmanian Government’s commitment to driving down waitlists, and ensuring Tasmanians can receive the care they need, sooner.

‘We are pulling out all the stops to reduce our outpatient waiting lists and delivering nearly 200 appointments is a fantastic result for the Tasmanian community,” Minister Barnett said.

“I want to thank the dedicated healthcare staff who banded together to deliver potentially lifesaving healthcare to the nearly 200 Tasmanians who were seen on Saturday.

“It’s only by working together, that we can make a real dent in reducing our waitlists, and their work over this weekend in the Cardiac Super Clinic, was phenomenal.

“Our Government is investing record funding into our health system – $8.3 million a day, in fact – but we know there’s more work to do and our health system still needs to be better.

“As part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, we are taking immediate action, to deliver an even better health system and this is just one example of that investment.”

The Super Clinic is part of our $20 million Outpatient Transformation Strategy that is working to reduce the time Tasmanians are waiting for their appointments.

The Minister said we are already seeing positive results – in fact, we are now delivering on average 10,000 additional outpatient appointments every month, when compared to 2014.

“We’re also investing in digital technology, with the new eReferral system implemented statewide in all public hospital clinics in 2023 and the planned statewide implementation of a new outpatient management system in the last quarter of 2024,” the Minister said.

“We will continue to do all we can to ensure Tasmanians have access to the healthcare they deserve, when and where they need it.”

The Super Clinic comes as the Government continues its largest ever health recruitment blitz, employing 560 new health workers since late April, 162 of which are nurses – almost two a day.