Review into Tasmanian hospital emergency departments delayed, union says government ‘interfering’

Tasmania’s health union has accused the state government of “interfering” in an independent review of hospital emergency departments, with the final report now overdue by two months.

Royal Hobart Hospital. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

The Health and Community Services Union has accused the state government of “political interference” in a critical review of Tasmania’s hospital emergency departments, claiming the Liberals have engineered repeated delays to the final report in an effort to prevent negative news coverage in the midst of the election campaign.

But Health Minister Guy Barnett has firmly rejected the comments from the union’s state secretary Robbie Moore, labelling them “absolutely untrue” and “inappropriate”.

The Major Tasmanian Hospital Emergency Department Review to Improve Patient Access and Flow is being overseen by an independent panel chaired by Professor Deb Picone and was announced in September last year.

The panel was originally due to hand its final action plan to the minister in December 2023 but requested an extension, which was subsequently granted with a new deadline of March 1 this year, ultimately falling within the period of the state election campaign.

HACSU State Secretary Robbie Moore. Picture: Chris Kidd

But with two months having now passed since March, questions are being asked of the government as the state of the health system continues to be a matter of public concern.

While an interim action plan has been published, Mr Moore said it was “totally insufficient for what was needed” and he suspected “political interference” was to blame for the delays to the final action plan.

“It should have been out well and truly before now. I was cynical when the review was being delayed earlier and as more talk of the election started to happen, there was another delay,” he said.

“It should have come out in the first couple of weeks of the election and it didn’t. And to me [it] seems most probable that there was government interference.”

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – NewsWire Photos APRIL 19, 2024: The Health Minister for Tasmania Guy Barnett during a press conference in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Mr Barnett said Professor Picone and the rest of the panel had asked for an extension and that Mr Moore’s comments were “false” and should be “withdrawn immediately”.

“We are not waiting; we have listened to the professionals and are ensuring they have the time they need to do this right,” he said.

“The department has been implementing interim recommendations from this report as we continue to improve Tasmania’s healthcare system.”

Just 51 per cent of emergency department visits in Tasmania’s public hospitals are being completed within the recommended clinical time frame of four hours or less.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart on Monday, March 25, 2024.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said Tasmanians were eager to see measures implemented to improve the state’s “struggling” health system and they wanted to “know what’s going on” with the review into emergency departments.

“With Tasmania’s health system again dominating headlines in recent weeks, we hope to see this important report released to the public as soon as possible,” she said.