The Tasmanian Premier and Health Minister have briefed staff at the Mersey Hospital on reforms that will see it become a statewide centre for elective surgeries.
The Government’s white paper, released yesterday, confirms the Latrobe hospital will keep its 24-hour emergency department but it will lose maternity services to Burnie and its high dependency unit will be converted for surgical recovery.
Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the ideas of thousands of Tasmanians had been heard over a six-month consultation period.
“Their message is clear; we must reject the idea of keeping the status quo, a health system which is regionally divided, inefficient and, despite the best efforts of our skilled medical professionals, cannot deliver better treatment for Tasmanians,” he said.
“Each of our major hospitals should have a specialised role delivering the services for all Tasmanians that they are each best equipped to safely provide.”
The Mersey Hospital at Latrobe will lose its maternity services to Burnie next year, but will keep its 24-hour emergency department and become a statewide centre for day and overnight surgeries.
There’s no question in my mind about the safety and sustainability of a 24/7 service at the Mersey.
Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson
Devonport Mayor Steve Martin said he was disappointed that Mersey Hospital would lose its maternity services.
He said he was also concerned about plans to include GPs in the staffing of the hospital’s 24-hour emergency department.
“If people go in there for life-saving treatment or issues it needs to be treated by the correct people, not a GP,” he said.
But Mr Ferguson said the decision to maintain the Mersey Hospital’s 24-hour emergency department was not a political one.
“Not just the local community, we’ve listened to what clinicians have had to say,” he said.
“There’s no question in my mind about the safety and sustainability of a 24/7 service at the Mersey.”
Greens question how reforms will be paid for
Brian Kirkby, from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said he did not believe the creation of the Mersey’s day surgery centre would result in a shortage of specialists at other hospitals.
“I think that they will continue to offer many of the same procedures that are already offered but that the Mersey will offer a separate service in perhaps a more timely fashion and a more efficient fashion,” he said.
Opposition health spokeswoman Rebecca White said she was concerned the white paper only focussed on hospitals.
“It doesn’t speak about keeping people well in their community and that was something that was highlighted in the green paper that this white paper would focus on,” she said.
“The Minister has failed to address how this health system will be reformed to cater for people living in their community accessing primary health care.”
The Tasmanian Greens were supportive of the reforms.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the reforms outlined in the white paper were sound but she questioned where the money the Government would need to implement them would come from.
“These reforms need money, they need hundreds of millions of dollars,” she said.
“The Government knows it has access to this money because they’ve got revenue extra revenue coming in from the GST and it should be spent on recurrent services.
“It should be spent on the health of Tasmanians.”