Premier Jeremy Rockliff releases long-term healthcare plan for Tasmania to 2040

A new long-term plan for Tasmania’s healthcare has highlighted the essential areas of focus for the state’s system – with pandemic-era innovations informing decisions. DETAILS >

RHH Emergency Specialist Dr Viet Tram, State Health Commander Katherine Morgan- Wicks and Premier Jeremy Rockliff during the release the Long Term Plan for Healthcare in Tasmania at the COVID@home plus call centre. Picture: Chris Kidd

Telehealth, virtual health and increased community outreach will be essential to Tasmania’s future health services, a new long-term plan says.

The state government’s draft Long-Term Plan for Healthcare in Tasmania 2040 represents the latest step in health reforms.

Releasing the plan from Hobart’s COVID@homeplus call centre, Premier and Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the pandemic had shown the importance of “thinking outside the square” when it came to providing healthcare.

“The pandemic really sharpened up a lot of our innovative thinking,” he said.

Mr Rockliff said the release of the exposure draft marked an important milestone in the Government’s long-term health reform agenda.

RHH Emergency Specialist Dr Viet Tram, Premier Jeremy Rockliff and State Health Commander Katherine Morgan- Wicks during the release the Long Term Plan for Healthcare in Tasmania at the COVID@home plus call centre. Picture: Chris Kidd

“This plan will connect care across every part of the health system – hospitals, subacute, rehabilitation, mental health services and primary care in the community – to ensure Tasmanians receive comprehensive healthcare services,” Mr Rockliff said.

“It focuses on expanding in-reach and home-based models of care and takes advantage of the learnings from COVID@homeplus so that we can expand virtual care options.”

The long-term plan does not contemplate closing or downgrading any of the state’s four main hospitals, 13 district hospitals and 23 community heath centres.

However service delivery in district hospitals will be “optimised” around service delivery in areas such as inpatient care, home-based care delivery, and outpatient specialist care.

Public comment is now open on the healthcare plan, with a final plan to be released in mid-2023.

Health Department secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said the focus was shifting from hospitals.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Nurse Manager Jane Palfreyman after the release of the Long Term Plan for Healthcare in Tasmania at the COVID@home plus call centre. Picture: Chris Kidd

“In the past a lot of our focus has been on hospitals. But as Covid has shown us, the right place for care is not always an acute care bed,” Ms Morgan-Wicks said.

“That is why we are focusing in this long term plan on the implementation of more in-reach and home based models of care, leveraging the success of programs like COVID@home.”

Emergency physician Viet Tran said the plan was of the utmost importance to improving health services.

COVID@homeplus nurse unit manager Jane Palfreyman said while the service currently supported people with Covid and other respiratory illnesses, the model could be applied more broadly.

“We know it is reassuring to our patients that we provide care at all hours of the day and night,” Ms Palfreyman said.

“We know how important virtual care will be to the health system moving forward and we are pleased that the success of our program will be used to explore more virtual care options into the future.

Ms Palfreyman said around 200 people were currently in the program, with around 1000 people during previous outbreak periods.

REFORMS IDENTIFIED IN THE DRAFT LONG-TERM PLAN:

• A need to enhance access to primary healthcare, including out of hours.
• Improving care in the community for people with chronic disease - half of all preventable hospitalisations in Tasmania are related to chronic conditions.
• A single electronic patient referral system to work across primary health and hospital outpatient services
• A Central Intake and Referral Service (CIRS) to streamline mental health and alcohol and other drug support service access in
• Further integration between private and public hospitals, in a bid to increase timely access to surgeries
• The introduction of public diagnostic mammography services for Tasmanians
• More Hospital in the Home services, a combination of telehealth and virtual care along with home visits.
• Improved digitised patient records