Will Hodgman’s Government has a leadership vacuum in health, and a Health Minister missing in action at a time when the system is in crisis.
Shadow Health Minister Sarah Lovell said Tasmania’s health system is reeling from a series of crises, but the Minister is avoiding the public eye.
“Frontline staff are telling the coroner people are dying while they’re waiting in the emergency room, Tasmania’s emergency departments have been ranked the worst in the country, paramedics are threatening to take industrial action, and nurses in Launceston are demanding escalation protocols because they’re under so much pressure.
“There are serious problems right across Tasmania’s health system. Since taking on the health portfolio Sarah Courtney has commissioned reviews, set up committees and held forums, but we’re not seeing improvements in our hospitals, in fact we’re seeing deterioration.
“Tasmanians need to know whether Will Hodgman’s Government has a plan to deal with the issues crippling Tasmania’s health and hospital system. Right now, the only plan they have is more cuts to a system already straining at the seams.
“Sarah Courtney has been in the job long enough to come to grips with the challenges and have a way forward. But she’s failed to explain to Tasmanians what she plans to do to resolve those challenges.”
Sarah Lovell
Shadow Health Minister
