With
further industrial action planned by Tasmania’s hard-working but critically
under-resourced nurses next week, Premier and Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff
must act now to ease unprecedented pressure on the health frontline.
Since
pulling out of a trade mission to New Zealand claiming he was focussed on
fixing the health and hospital crisis, Mr Rockliff has instead done the bare
minimum to address the broken system.
Since
then, we have seen the tragic death of a woman aged in her 70s who was ramped
for nine hours while waiting to be admitted to the Launceston General Hospital.
Tasmanians
along with frontline health staff are appalled that Mr Rockliff is in charge of
a government that has done little more than provide nurses with free coffee and
chocolates.
Our
hardworking nurses and midwives are taking industrial action as a last resort.
They
do not want to strike but under Mr Rockliff’s weak leadership, they have been
left no choice.
With further industrial action at the North-West Regional Hospital
likely to go ahead on Wednesday, Mr Rockliff now has four days to come good on
his repeated promises to act.
What will he do today to genuinely relieve the pressure on a system that is at breaking point after almost a decade of neglect from the Liberal Government?
Anita Dow MP
Shadow Health Minister
