Delivering biggest ever boost to healthcare in North

 

The health and wellbeing of Tasmanians has always been our top priority, and a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government will deliver the biggest ever package of works at the LGH, with a $580 million building program. We will also fast track the co-located private hospital adjacent to the LGH, as well as deliver $52 million for more surgeries in Northern Tasmania as part of our record elective surgery boost.

Our plan to deliver the healthcare Northern Tasmanians deserve to secure Tasmania’s future, includes more surgeries, more staff, more community-based care and new facilities, including:

  • Funding an additional $120 million statewide to deliver a record program of elective surgeries. This will mean a total investment of $156.4 million, to slash waiting lists and deliver an additional 22,300 elective surgeries and endoscopies across the state. This program includes an extra 7,400 surgeries and endoscopies for the North, with a funding boost of $52.1 million over the next four years, as part of the biggest ever investment in elective surgeries.
  • Commencing the next stages of the Launceston General Hospital redevelopment masterplan, with a $580 million investment over 10 years to meet future demand. This massive injection into contemporary public health facilities for Launceston will see up to 6960 direct and indirect jobs created over the life of the project, and is expected to deliver, subject to consultation:
    • A new purpose-built mental health precinct;
    • A new seven-storey tower block providing space for up to seven new hospital wards, as well as expansion and refurbishment of existing wards, to provide more single rooms;
    • A redesigned ambulance and patient drop-off zone and a new and bigger ED waiting room, including separate areas for children, adults and people in acute psychological distress;
    • The new Ward 3D to be designed and fitted out as a dedicated Older Persons unit, to enable best practice care for our most vulnerable patients;
    • A full refurbishment of the adjacent 39 Frankland Street as a dedicated administration and learning hub; and
    • A new 10-bed, five-recliner coronary care unit, as part of an expansion of medical imaging.
  • Planning and consultation will get underway immediately, and we will engage closely with LGH staff, professional bodies, including the AMA and the ANMF, and the Launceston community to ensure we get the final plans right.
  • Fast-tracking a co-located private hospital adjacent to the LGH, with a predicted investment of around $120 million, which is expected to create 1,400 direct and indirect jobs in the building and construction sector. Having a co-located hospital will enable better services and attract and retain health professionals, including specialists. We will finalise a Memorandum of Understanding with Calvary within 30 days of being sworn in and finalise an agreement within six months of being re-elected.
  • Providing an additional $5 million for around 20,000 extra dental appointments across emergency dental, general dental care and denture clinics.
  • Providing a one-off $20 million fund to deliver care sooner for Tasmanians by ensuring our private hospitals are better able to support our public hospitals to manage demand.
  • Strengthening palliative and community healthcare with an additional $52 million for in-home and local community delivered health services. These are vital services that work to keep people out of hospital when it is safe to do so, and deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
  • Investing an additional $20 million over two years in a new statewide Hospital Equipment Fund, to replace and upgrade critical hospital equipment across the state.
  • Supporting the work of Family Planning Tasmania to deliver health services across the state for women.
  • Increasing access to medical cannabis products in Tasmania, including allowing GP prescriptions.

    • We will employ up to 280 additional full-time equivalent staff to support these new and boosted services across Tasmania, including more than 160 nurses, 14 doctors, 30 allied health staff as well as more than 70 hospital support staff. This is in addition to new staff that will be recruited to support our already budgeted commitments, which for Northern Tasmania includes the new Ward 3D.

    We thank the staff at the LGH for their hard work and tireless dedication to providing world class care, which will be further supported by this landmark investment.

    The Tasmanian majority Liberal Government has already delivered more funding, more staff and more health services than any government before, and reopened beds at the LGH that were closed by Labor. We are now spending $9.8 billion on health - $4 billion more than the Labor-Green Government in 2013-14.

    We know there is more to do, and this plan lays out how we will address immediate demand challenges in health, while getting on with our longer-term plans for the expansion of the LGH precinct to secure Tasmania’s future.

    We also recognise the importance of preventative health, mental health, ambulance and rural health, and we will be releasing plans in these areas shortly.

    The policy is available here.