It’s really concerning to hear the fixed-term contracts of nurses working in Medical Specialist Clinics at Wellington Clinics are not being extended. The Greens stand with HACSU nurses striking as the Liberals’ $700 million of cuts impact frontline health services.
Nurses at medical specialist clinics do an important job in helping patients manage complex and chronic disorders relating to gastroenterology, respiratory, endocrinology, diabetes and the thyroid. These are frontline healthcare roles that shouldn’t be cut.
Tasmanians are already waiting too long for the healthcare they need. At a time when the Liberal Government should be doing all it can to ensure sick Tasmanians get care when they need it, they’re cutting the jobs of the very people who make this possible.
The waitlist for specialist services is already around 4,000 patients. How is cutting the workforce going to help clear this backlog?
This is a real-life consequence of the Liberals’ $700 million cuts to healthcare. The Liberal Government’s promises to protect frontline jobs are yet more spin from a government who doesn’t prioritise the health services Tasmanians need.
