Medical imaging workers play an essential part in ensuring Tasmanians get the healthcare they need. As a result of understaffing, patients are having to wait for longer than they should for vital scans and treatment.
The Tasmanian Greens stand behind nurses taking industrial action today, and urge the Rockliff Government to heed the calls of our critical health workers for support. Nurses have been stretched to breaking point for months now, trying their best to care for the growing number of patients in their waiting rooms and corridors.
On Saturday, hospital staff said that only 18 nurses were working in the emergency department, which is seven less than the minimum number required.
The Australian Nurses and Midwifing Federation (ANMF) is spot on: the staffing situation at the LGH over the weekend was diabolical and definitely unsafe.
Yesterday, in what was described as a model for the rest of the country and the world, Victoria followed the science and launched a Pathway to Clear Indoor Air Project that will improve indoor air quality, reduce disease and boost productivity.
We share the concerns of the Opposition and the broader community about the $300 million of efficiency dividends that were forecast in the 2023-24 budget. They ring alarm bells across the community, a community that is already seeing significant pressure on our frontline and other services at the moment.
I thank the member for Clark for bringing on this matter of public importance on budget cuts. I want to start, as have other members, with the notion of getting a grip.
'Get a grip.' Those are the words the minister for Health used last week when nurses raised concerns about staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital being asked to cover shifts in the emergency department at Launceston General Hospital.
Evidence of government neglect of the health system continues stacking up. New information from your department shows Tasmanians on the outpatient waiting list for over a decade and recent ambulance wait times topping 23 hours.
Revelations from the ANMF that nurse managers are being trained to pat down and search patients for weapons are concerning, and the government should abandon this cost-cutting approach.