Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you. Minister, I’m looking at the document Statewide Elective Surgery Four‑Year Plan 2021-25, and on page 14 of that document is a table of key performance requirements, it’s called. They include –
Mr BARNETT – What page is it?
Ms O’CONNOR – Page 14. They include whether a patient was seen on time, what the wait time was, admission volume, number of patients waiting over boundary. As I understand it, in the 2021-22 year, zero out of five of those KPIs was met, but I’m happy to be corrected. In fact, I’d be stoked to be corrected. In 2022-23, one of those five KPIs has been met. How many of these key performance requirements were met in 2023-24?
Mr BARNETT – Thank you for the question.
Ms O’CONNOR – Interestingly, they’re not referenced in the document that you tabled today, the KPRs.
Mr WEBSTER – Through you, minister. Looking at the budget chapter, obviously seen on time, the answer is we didn’t meet that. Average overdue wait time for those waiting beyond the recommended times, I don’t believe we met that, looking at the budget chapter. Admission volume, I think we may have exceeded that because we had a record year. Number of patients waiting over boundary, the 270, I’m not sure we quite got there, but it was down. Number of patients waiting prior to 2019, which is 2022 now, we didn’t meet that.
Ms O’CONNOR – So one out of five. This is no judgement on you, obviously, Mr Webster. I just thought it was important that the committee had that understanding. The Victorian Department of Health has put out a general notice about monkeypox or Mpox and pointed to a number of cases in Victoria and their statement said ‘as well as in other jurisdictions’. Have there been any admissions to Tasmania’s public hospital system of patients with Mpox?
Mr BARNETT – Thank you for the question.
Ms O’CONNOR – Another disease, I might say, that can be transmitted through the airborne route, just in case you haven’t had a chance to read that science. Isn’t that something that would stand out?
Mr WEBSTER – Twenty-six cases in Australia. Sorry, I’ve just looked at measles. No cases recorded in Tasmania.
Ms O’CONNOR – Okay, thanks.
Mr WEBSTER – Which is why it didn’t stand out.
Ms O’CONNOR – That’s good. What would be Tas Health’s response in terms of informing the public if there was evidence of infection or transmission in Tasmania?
Mr WEBSTER – Through you, minister. In fact, the Director of Public Health has put out public advice twice now just warning about Mpox and what precautions the public should be taking in terms of if they’re travelling to an area where Mpox exists and those sorts of things. So, in addition to that, we’ve actually been working specifically through sexual health with parts of our population that might be at greater risk to make sure they have specific information relevant to them and have a contact within our sexual health service should they have –
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you for that. I might just wind up on this and ask are you aware that in the Central African Republic, more than 50 per cent of cases are amongst children who you wouldn’t have considered necessarily to be a high risk group for a disease which was thought to be predominantly sexually transmitted? Is Tas Health up to date with that information and aware that the potential vulnerable population group is much more than people who might have sex.
Mr WEBSTER – Through you, minister. Yes, we are. In fact, our briefing points some of that information out to us.
Ms O’CONNOR – The risk to children.
Mr WEBSTER – Yes, and where it’s happening in Africa so our public health team rather than me as the secretary would be all over it –
Ms O’CONNOR – Sure. But you look after the hospitals, Mr Webster, which is where they’ll be present.
Mr WEBSTER – But they’ve mentioned it in the briefing that they’re monitoring that as well. So, you know, they’ll be putting out, as I said they’ve put out two lots of advice directly, and we’ve worked with sexual health on populations. So, we’ll follow the advice.
Ms O’CONNOR – One group of at-risk people potentially.
Mr WEBSTER – Potentially one group. I do acknowledge that. But we’ll continue to monitor that as it says in the brief.
Ms O’CONNOR – Last question on this line of questioning, have there been any –
CHAIR – I thought that was the last question.
Ms O’CONNOR – Sorry. Well have there been any cases of tuberculosis present at any of our hospitals over the past year or so?
Mr WEBSTER – Whilst we’re looking for that, through you, minister, I inadvertently didn’t mention that we actually do have an Mpox vaccination program underway for at-risk categories as well.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you.
CHAIR – And a whooping cough warning as well. I heard it on the way home on Friday.
Mr WEBSTER – Through you, minister. Yes, there is a whooping cough warning out at the moment and we do have an at-risk program running for vaccinations for that as well.
Ms O’CONNOR – Do we have an answer to the tuberculosis question? Because the numbers are increasing around the world.
CHAIR – While somebody looks for that, Ms Armitage.
