Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the state’s hospital networks would soon offer more specialised services in a bid to overcome long wait lists and adverse patient outcomes.

Under proposed changes in a draft health white paper released yesterday, the LGH will deliver a higher range of complex services in areas such as neurology, endocrinology and infectious diseases.

The Launceston hospital will also house more youth mental health and pain management services.

Latrobe’s Mersey Community Hospital is set for a major overhaul, with the site to become a dedicated elective day-surgery centre.

It’s high dependency unit, which currently treats a small number of patients requiring urgent ventilation and other machine support, will instead become a short-stay unit.

Mr Ferguson said the low volume of patients treated at the HDU was unsustainable.

‘‘Critically ill and injured patients requiring high levels of treatment are more safely and efficiently managed at a higher-level facility such as Launceston, Burnie or Hobart,’’ Mr Ferguson said.

The North-West Regional Hospital will no longer provide complex services such as upper gastrointestinal, ear, nose and throat surgeries.

‘‘We simply cannot ignore the very clear and strong evidence that surgeries of such a high complexity should not be carried out in the low volumes which have been occurring at the North-West Regional Hospital,’’ the minister said.

Maternity services in the North-West will also be consolidated into one location.

Dr Tim Greenaway, of the Heath Council of Tasmania, said a ‘‘business as usual’’ approach was not an option.

‘‘We cannot continue to provide everything to everybody, everywhere,’’ Dr Greenaway said.

Mr Ferguson said moving to more centralised services, expected to be delivered within the existing funding envelope, was designed to achieve more with what was available.

Opposition Health spokeswoman Rebecca White said she was worried about the government’s centralisation agenda.

‘‘Of course we understand health reform is very important, but centralising services is not something we’re particularly keen to see when it might severely disadvantage people living in rural and regional areas,’’ she said.

Ms White questioned whether Mr Ferguson had federal support for his plans, with a similar proposal for Mersey in 2007 prompting the Commonwealth government to take over funding for the site.

Public submissions on the state’s draft document will be accepted until May 15, with a final paper to be published by the end of June.