‘Breaking point’: Hospitals unready for Covid surge, says Labor
A southern Tasmanian man has outlined his health battle and revelations he could be waiting at least three years for a surgery to fix the problem. FULL STORY >>
Tasmania
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FOR Warwick Lawson, even the most basic of everyday tasks can sometimes seem monumental.
The Glenorchy man has to use a walking stick and can’t go for a walk without experiencing severe pain.
He’s also given up gardening and his partner has to put on his shoes of a morning as he can hardly bend down.
Mr Lawson, 64, suffers from osteoarthritis in his knees and after a specialist appointment this week, he was shocked to learn he would likely be waiting at least three years for a knee replacement.
At the end of September, there were 10,776 patients waiting for an elective surgery in Tasmania.
But because Mr Lawson’s surgery is not considered urgent, he faces a years-long wait. In the meantime, all he can do is try to escape the pain.
“The specialist said three years could easily go into four years once the border restrictions ease,’’ Mr Lawson said.
“I might be able to have a better quality of life ... less pain would be a joy.
“Just give me a couple of good knees. Surgery is my only possibility of a better life.”
But Mr Lawson admits it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s a bit surreal when you think about it. Where am I in three years’ time?’’, he said.
“I might be going in under the knife in 2025 or something. It’s just hard to grasp.”
It comes as the Australian Medical Association released its public hospitals report card, showing continued challenges in elective surgery and emergency department wait times.
AMA Tasmania spokeswoman Annette Barratt said despite Covid restrictions and temporary stay-home orders in Tasmania during 2020, the strain on the health system did not ease.
Dr Barratt said it was positive the state government was increasing the number of beds, but recurrent funding was needed to cope with future demand, along with incentives for health professionals to relocate to Tasmania.
The report found a temporary pause of most elective surgeries worsened an issue that was already significant pre-Covid.
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the number of hospital beds in Tasmania had increased by 223 since 2018, with a plan to add a further 152 beds by the end of 2021.
Mr Rockliff said the elective surgery waiting list had declined by more than 1500 patients between January and September this year, amid a funding injection.
“More Tasmanians getting their elective surgery within clinically recommended times is a top priority of mine,’’ Mr Rockliff said.
Labor health spokeswoman Anita Dow said the state’s health system was in crisis and feared the impacts of increased Covid cases when borders reopened on December 15.
“What is the government’s plan to manage ballooning wait lists and ensure Tasmanians get access to the elective surgery they so desperately need?,’’ she said.
’What’s the plan?’: Labor asks
THE state government needs to explain how the Tasmanian hospital system was going to cope with the spike in Covid-19 cases as the state opens up, Labor says.
Opposition leader Rebecca White said that the latest government figures showed hospitals were struggling under current levels of demand.
Modelling predicting thousands of Covid cases in the first six months after borders reopen showed the system was about to be put to the test, she said.
“The most recent data from the Tasmanian health department shows that our emergency departments are already at breaking point,” Ms White said.
“At the Royal Hobart Hospital, four out of five patients with potentially critical illnesses were not seen on time and it’s 60 per in our northern hospitals.
“Our health system is already groaning under enormous pressure and we need to hear clearly from the government what their plan is to support our hospitals and our health workforce when we open our borders on the 15th of December.
“The government’s own modelling demonstrates that we can expect 10,000 Covid cases in the first 200 days in Tasmania.
“That’s very concerning, given that we know our hospitals are already at breaking point.”
Tasmania missed the target to reach an 80 per cent double dose vaccination rate target set by the Premier for Melbourne Cup Day. The rate is currently around 74.8 per cent.
The next milestone is the 90 per cent double vaccinated by early December.
“I think the need to be vaccinated is becoming more urgent now that we’ve got a date set for borders to reopen.
“We need to see more urgency from this government and from the Premier, compelling people to get out, get vaccinated, do it for yourself, do it for your community, do it for everybody, because right now, we have a date for reopening and he urgency to get vaccinated couldn’t be more real.”
Premier Peter Gutwein said the vaccination target was within reach.
“We’ve always said our target was Melbourne Cup Day and then it became apparent in terms of the timing of the second doses that we would hit the 80 per cent target in the Melbourne Cup weekend.
“As the second doses are now provided over the coming days, we will hit that target and be in a very strong position moving forward.
“We know even if you’re vaccinated, you could get very sick and unfortunately, those who are not vaccinated, some of them might die.
“And so we need to be very comfortable that in taking that decision to reopen on the 15th of December, every Tasmanian had the opportunity to be vaccinated.”
‘Beyond breaking point’: Tassie hospital ED strain exposed
A PLAN to drive down Tasmania’s ballooning waiting list for elective surgeries is working, the state government says, but worsening emergency department wait times continue to plague the health system.
The number of patients waiting for a procedure in the state’s public health system blew out to 12,286 in January, but has fallen 12 per cent since then to the end of September.
But there are still 10,776 patients who are still waiting for an elective surgery, with only 55 per cent of them being seen within clinically recommended times.
Patients considered in most urgent need and overdue for an elective surgery are waiting on average three months longer than recommended, compared to four months in March.
During the state election campaign, the government pledged $120m to deliver an additional 22,300 elective surgeries and endoscopies, bringing its total commitment to $156m.
“While there is still work to do, this is very positive news and we will continue to implement our clear plan to reduce the waiting list further,’’ Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said.
However, the percentage of all patients presenting to Tasmanian hospital emergency departments that were seen within recommended time frames departments is getting worse.
On this measure, only 46 per cent of patients were seen on time in September, compared to 62 per cent 12 months earlier.
The Royal Hobart Hospital’s emergency department was the worst performed, with just 28 per cent of patients seen on time.
Labor health spokeswoman Anita Dow said as Tasmania prepares to fully reopen to mainland Australia and the world, the state of the health system was concerning.
“As we prepare to open our borders and as the Premier has said the Covid delta variant will arrive in Tasmania, that’s extremely concerning as we will potentially see more and more procedures cancelled and the list grow,’’ Ms Dow said.
“What’s more concerning is the possibility of Covid causing even more intense pressure on emergency departments which are already stretched beyond breaking point and are in the worst shape they have ever been.”
Mr Rockliff said the government was opening up more hospital beds to cope with additional demand across the system.
He said the government was working with clinicians to respond to the rising number of people presenting for care at emergency departments.
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