Health Minister Michael Ferguson under fire over scathing report on state’s health system

The Health Minister has welcomed a report which levelled scathing criticisms at the state’s health system as the peak medical body expressed its anger at the mounting crisis.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson welcomed the Auditor-General’s report and said the Government was doing everything it could to fix the ailing health system. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

THERE are no “silver bullets” to fix the state’s embattled emergency departments, the Health Minister says.

Michael Ferguson on Tuesday welcomed an Auditor General’s report which levelled scathing criticisms at the state’s health system.

HEALTH SYSTEM UNDER FIRE IN SCATHING REPORT

Despite presiding over perilous deterioration in emergency care statewide, Mr Ferguson said the Government was doing everything it could.

“It’s not acceptable when patients are waiting too long for care,” he said. “So we’re budgeting for a bigger emergency department, we’ve fully funded stage two of our Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department and there is more to come,” he said.

“We’ve got a willingness to consider options to open even more beds, particularly when we’re looking at completing our new buildings.

“I think the report makes it clear that there are no silver bullets to solve the challenge of increasing demand and times where patients wait too long for care.

“We’re all about solutions. We’ve got additional funding that we can now use but I’ll be looking for the advice of experts, including the Auditor-General’s advice, which will assist us in finding even more solutions so we can do more.”

Labor’s health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell.

Auditor-General Rod Whitehead noted that part of the problem was that previous expert reports had been ignored.

“Our report does highlight the fact that there has been a number of reviews that over the last six years. Those reviews have made a number of recommendations,” he said.

“The evidence that we’ve obtained through the audit indicates that a large number of those recommendations have not been implemented.”

AMA spokesman Dr John Saul said the organisation wants to see action on the crisis, not more headlines. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Australian Medical Assocation spokesman John Saul said his organisation’s response to the report was “just frustration”.

“Hopefully someone will listen, I mean it’s just so frustrating — the AMA have been saying this for four years that we’re entering this crisis mode,” Dr Saul said.

“It’s so good to be backed up by the Auditor-General.

“We’ve got a summit coming up but we don’t want to see fairy floss, we don’t want to see sparkles, we don’t want to see headlines from our ministers.

“We want to see some action We want simple things: we want more staff, more beds, more support – we just desperately need them.”

Labor’s health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell said Mr Ferguson should be ashamed.

Greens health spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff.

“Michael Ferguson can no longer deny what is clear to each and every Tasmanian — he has thrown the state’s hospitals into crisis and his chronic underfunding has led to chaos and avoidable deaths,” she said.

“The Auditor-General has called for urgent action to fix these issues and the Minister must work with his office to implement each of his 10 recommendations.”

Greens health spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the Government was consciously underfunding the health system.

“The budget that the Minister has just presided over is one where there will be cuts to the Tasmanian hospital system, there will be cuts to the emergency department,” she said.