Question Time: Gynaecological Care
Ms BURNET question to MINISTER for HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, and WELLBEING, Mrs ARCHER
[10.28 a.m.]
Public health data shows non-urgent gynaecology wait times blowing out across the entire state, stretching to 536 days in the south at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH), over 500 days in the north at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH), and well past a year in the north‑west, with thousands of women across all three regions left waiting up to 18 months for a basic outpatient assessment. What immediate statewide workforce model are you funding today, or are 500 day delays now official government policy for women's healthcare across Tasmania?
ANSWER
Thank you, honourable Speaker, and I thank the member for her question. I would just state that health is an absolute priority for our government, and especially services that support Tasmanian women and their families. We're committed to ensuring that health services are accessible, patient-centred and high quality. We have invested in women's health right across the system. Just picking up on the point that you're specifically making about gynaecology, and I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge Senator Lambie's recent statements in this regard, her bravery for sharing her personal story, and thank her for that.
We are investing in women's health, as I said, with our expansion of The Bubble in Launceston, as well as the LGH surgical robot for gynaecological surgeries. They are the two most recent investments. Those are both investments that help with active recruitment as well providing that specialised equipment that clinicians have trained on, that they work on and that they expect to see when they work in our system is really important. We are actively recruiting with local, national and international campaigns in place for staff right across the health system, including creating new opportunities, including in this area for rural generalist general practitioners to work in the state's public hospitals in medical specialties like obstetrics and gynaecology. Additional rural generalists with obstetrics and gynaecology specialisation have been recruited to work in the public secondary care hospitals in the north‑west. We are continuing to see increased demand for health services right across the health system, including in gynaecology. I reiterate that all patients are triaged according to their clinical urgency and ensure that those with the greatest clinical need are prioritised and seen first. I do empathise and acknowledge the frustration that wait times can have on patients that are waiting.
The department has also implemented a range of strategies in recent years to allocate more appointments and ensure that more women can be seen sooner, including a greater use of telehealth appointments, where that is clinically appropriate. We are seeing improvements, particularly in the North West where the total number of patients waiting has nearly halved in the last two years, but we do know that more needs to be done to build on these gains.
I'm also advised that recruitment's underway for an additional staff specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, to increase service capacity in the North West, and the Launceston General Hospital is running additional gynaecological clinics through the remainder of this year, seeing approximately 100 women per clinic. The department's also looking at outsourcing procedures, where clinically appropriate, to further improve access to surgery, reduce wait times and deliver better outcomes for Tasmanians.
Supplementary Question
Ms BURNET - Thank you, minister, for your very thoughtful answer and mentioning Senator Lambie as well and her situation. 500 days-plus is just not good enough for women and women waiting, and things get worse, so what is the immediate target to try and reduce that waiting list?
Mrs ARCHER - I thank the honourable member for the supplementary. Those are some of the things I've just detailed that are happening immediately, including those additional appointments at the North West and outsourcing, where that's appropriate. I reiterate that clinical presentations are, of course, triaged according to their urgency.