No 'quick fix' for surgery cancellations
Posted
Updated
Tasmanian Health Minister Lara Giddings says a bigger emergency department at the LGH to ease space pressures. (ABC News: Cate Grant, file photo)
Tasmania's Health Minister, Lara Giddings, says there are no quick fix solutions to the problems at the Launceston General Hospital.
Elective surgeries were cancelled yesterday and today, despite day-shift nurses working overtime to open four of the eight closed beds.
Procedures were also cancelled last week.
The hospital's chief executive John Kirwan says management has advertised nationally and internationally for more nursing staff.
"Again today we've had to cancel elective surgery," Dr Kirwan said. "We ask people to be patient with us on that."
"We reschedule them as soon as possible.
"We try very hard to make sure they're not cancelled again but obviously at the moment the emergency admissions take priority over elective admissions."
Dr Kirwan, says up to 40 elderly patients are waiting to be transferred into nursing homes.
Ms Giddings says the department is trying to alleviate the pressures and plans for a bigger emergency department are progressing.
"Last last week we announced the architects for that project and we're well on track now to actually getting the design work done and we would hope to get the building started next year," she said.
"So that will be one of the areas that will help alleviate some space pressures."
Liberals' pressure
The Tasmanian Opposition believes the Launceston General Hospital faces 'insurmountable challenges' without a significant injection of funding and an increase in northern aged-care beds.
The Liberal's health spokesman, Brett Whiteley, says the new interest-free loans system that the Federal Government is using to fund aged-care in inadequate.
"Most of the aged-care providers that I'm speaking with say the simply cannot afford to lock into a loan arrangement with the Federal Government," he said.
"Even though they've been given licences to operate beds and will get funding for those beds, they can't actually physically afford to build these beds in bricks and mortar."
Mr Whiteley says the bed crisis is made worse by the Health Minister, Lara Giddings, refusing to accept that the problem lies with a lack of nurses.
"She can blame the physical size of the emergency department, she can blame the winter conditions, but the fact of the matter is, there are no more beds at the Launceston General Hospital today than there was in 1991.
"There is no meeting of demand, there's no recognition of the fact that this is the second biggest and most important hospital in this state."
