THE TASMANIAN GOVERNMENT NEED TO TAKE REAL ACTION ON HEALTH

TIM JACOBSON STATE SECRETARY

“Oh well, it’s the same everywhere,” are words I hear a lot when this government talks to me about the state of our health services in Tasmania.

And yes, that’s true.

But what they’re leaving out is that on almost every measure Tasmania has the worst health system in the country.

A recent report on government services1 shows that on nearly every level Tasmania’s health system is the worst and will continue to get worse. But it isn’t just that – because in Tasmania we have a number of underlying issues that add to our healthcare ills.

Tasmanians are older, sicker, have more chronic disease and are more economically disadvantaged than most other states and territories. It’s a recipe for disaster that can only mean demand on our health system will continue to grow.

Current and previous state governments know this because there have been numerous reports (which have gathered dust on a long line of Health Ministers’ bookshelves) that point out this simple fact.

And given that we’re disadvantaged, the only place people can go to have their health needs addressed affordably is often the closest public hospital, emergency department, or ambulance.

The Tasmanian government continue to put wellmeaning but ineffective band-aids on the problem. It appears that almost weekly the government will announce a new initiative to address demand, but these initiatives usually fall on the same staff to implement and do not address the real issues.

We all know how difficult it is right now to see a GP when you need to – and how much it costs if you can make it in to see the doctor. In many cases we know that even simply paying the up-front fee is completely beyond some families’ means and the research shows that in many of these cases, their health will get worse, and the level of care they’ll need grows.

A recent report looking into fixing problems with Medicare2 has suggested broadening the GP system and including more allied health workers. It raises a couple of big questions: firstly, “where are we going to find these GPs and AHPs?” But it also fails to address how we’re supposed to keep people away from hospitals when they can’t afford or access the GP services that exist already.

If GP services aren’t available when people need them the most, how are people supposed to access the primary health care they need to avoid going to the hospital? People don’t just get sick between 9 and 5. And you can’t ignore your health. If there’s no other option but to call an ambulance or go to the hospital, you’d expect that that’s what people will keep doing – until we can provide the primary health services they need to be able to get the care they need at home and in the community.

The report also doesn’t seem to factor in how this overburdening of our hospital and ambulance services affect the health system’s ability to provide services for the people who do need to be there.

For every day the government fails to act, it’s another day we lose more of our ability to keep up services and another day workers struggle to provide proper health outcomes.

Let’s not forget that if we were to resource our aged care sector better, and provide decent jobs and better training, we would be able to care for our older Tasmanians in ways that would reduce hospital presentations.

We know that the private health sector is failing too. Only recently we learned that one of the major private hospitals has been forced to shut its ED because of staffing shortages on weekends. Which – you guessed it – means even more pressure on the public sector ED.

I’m no expert, but I do know enough to know that there are levers the government can pull to address these fundamental issues at any time. But it takes courage and money.

Yes, it would be a high price. There’s no doubt about that. But the price of not acting is higher – and not just economically. The price is human. The price is our health.

Either way, it’s Tasmanians who’ll pay that price if the government do not act.

That’s why we keep fighting for health – and for aged care, and for disability services, and community services. Because we know what’s at stake. And I encourage you to get involved when you see HACSU running campaigns, because you know your industry inside out. You know the pressures. You know what needs to change to make things better. Together, our voices make a difference.

We need action to fix health across the board now. It cannot wait.