26 July 2020

, Minister for Health

More complaints and no solutions from lazy Labor

The Tasmanian Government is delivering a record investment into the state’s health system as well as additional funding as part of the COVID response.

Tasmanians know we are in the middle of a global pandemic and this has to be our main focus, but the Government is getting on with the job of delivering significant investment into health services and infrastructure.

Labor, as per usual, has clearly not been paying attention.

In the last four months alone, we have recruited new paramedics for Longford, George Town and Beaconsfield, delivered the biggest ever expansion of telehealth clinics at the LGH, and announced more than $10 million for crucial health infrastructure in the regions.

Projects for the North and North West, either planned or underway, include:

• Replacing the switchboards, improving the hot water pipes, fixing box guttering and upgrading the flooring at the Scottsdale District Hospital;
• Upgrading the staff kitchen, refurbishing the Child Health and Parenting area, upgrading the security system and improving the laboratory area upgrade for Oral Health Services at the Devonport Community Health Centre;
• Replacing roofing at the Campbell Town District Hospital;
• Completing works on the car park at the Oakrise building in Launceston;
• Upgrading the flooring and delivering a new storage shed at the West Coast District Hospital; and
• Upgrading the air conditioning and reception at the Central Coast Health Centre.

I also confirmed last month that works have now resumed on the $20 million Ward 4K redevelopment, with Stage One of the Redevelopment now completed.

We have been perfectly clear that a revised timeline for the LGH Masterplan is being worked through due to the challenges faced by COVID-19, with a significant level of resources allocated to keeping Tasmanians safe during the pandemic.

The LGH master-planning work will include more detailed consideration of how a collocated private hospital could complement the LGH and deliver the best health outcomes for the region and state.

This crucial infrastructure investment comes on top of our unprecedented funding for health services, which was bolstered at the start of the year with an additional $600 million over four years.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the dedicated staff at the LGH, who have been working hard to keep Tasmanians safe during these challenging times.

It’s important to remember that Labor had ZERO funding allocated for any new infrastructure at the LGH at the 2018 election, and their privatised hospital plan would have thrown the Ward 4k project into complete disarray.

It was the former Labor-Green Government that closed a whole Ward at the LGH and put the beds into offsite storage.

So while we have been focused on rebuilding our state, Labor has proven once again they have nothing to offer but hollow complaints.

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