· Will Health
Minister confirm cap on beds?
· Doctors could not
be clearer in their alarming warnings
Health
Minister Michael Ferguson has to come clean today and tell Tasmanians in the
North West if his chronic underfunding of the hospital system has resulted in a
cap on inpatient beds and a freeze on staff recruitment at the Mersey Community
Hospital.
Shadow
Health Minister Sarah Lovell said emails leaked to media today showed senior
clinicians held urgent concerns that bed block and a directive to “cap” the
number of inpatient medical beds at the hospital could lead to avoidable
patient deaths.
Ms
Lovell said the information also contained claims that a “hiring freeze” had
left the hospital unable to recruit nursing staff.
“It’s
a dire and unacceptable situation when senior clinicians are telling Michael
Ferguson that they are extremely concerned about avoidable deaths because of
his chronic underfunding of the health and hospital system,” Ms Lovell said.
“Will
Mr Ferguson admit there has been a cap placed on the number of inpatient beds
and will he confirm nursing staff are not able to be hired?
“Michael
Ferguson went to the state election just over a year ago promising Tasmanians a
record investment in health but what has happened is the exact opposite.
“The
unacceptable situation in the state’s hospitals is a symptom of chronic
underfunding.
“Michael
Ferguson has been exposed time and again of chronically underfunding health and
that has plunged a hospital system which was already in crisis on his watch
further into crisis.
“Premier Hodgman needs to give Tasmanians a guarantee that money will be reinvested back into the health system on Budget Day next Thursday.”
Sarah Lovell MLC
Shadow Health Minister
