Premier Hodgman and his Health Minister Michael Ferguson must today update important data about Tasmania’s health and hospital system or explain why they are determined to keep it under wraps.
Shadow Health Minister Sarah Lovell said information contained on Tasmania’s Health System Dashboard was now well out of date despite the Hodgman Government’s promise to provide quarterly updates.
“Time and again the Health Minister has delayed or withheld this crucial information because the Hodgman Government is far more dedicated to secrecy than it is to giving Tasmanians a true picture of what is happening in the state’s hospitals,” Ms Lovell said.
“The dashboard system provides Tasmanians with important data such as how many people are languishing on elective surgery waiting lists, how long they are waiting and how many people have been removed from the waiting lists.
“It is also designed to give a clear picture of what is happening in Tasmania’s emergency departments such as how many patients are being seen within recommended time frames.
“It is also designed to report waiting times for ambulances and at a time when Tasmania’s response times are the worst in the country and ambulances are being queued for hours outside emergency departments, that information has never been more important.
“Michael Fergsuon needs to either release this information today or explain why he is keeping it hidden from Tasmanians.
“If Michael Ferguson is deliberately keeping this data hidden, Premier Hodgman should stand up to him and order him to release it.”
Sarah Lovell MLC
Shadow Health and Preventative Health Care Minister
