It has been no secret that there have been issues for some time at the LGH stretching back well before the Liberal government came to power.

Two days ago, this paper on its front page highlighted some of those concerns, including one patient being forced to wait eight days in ED for admission to a ward.

Furthermore, another 20 people were waiting for admission to the hospital.

But instead of acting on that information, Mr Ferguson chose to throw the ample resources of the government at the Royal Hobart by employing 40 more nurses.

Then yesterday - as if on cue - the minister put out a media release, saying he had asked the Tasmanian Health Service to work with staff at the LGH to develop a business case for the hospital, including assessing nursing double shifts.

Mr Ferguson then went on to quote figures from as far back as 2011-12 which showed just how chronic the situation was at the LGH - 332 patients who had an emergency department stay longer than 48 hours, compared with just nine at the RHH.

By 2012-13, that figure had ballooned to 429 at the LGH compared with 17 at the RHH.

If those figures go back to 2011-12, why didn't the current and former governments act sooner?

If the minister and his Labor Party predecessor knew how bad the situation was at the LGH, why didn't they act on this information sooner?

Why is it that we have a situation that nurses feel compelled to call for a crisis meeting before action is taken?

It's not like it has been an isolated problem. Ambulance ramping and bed shortages have been a major issue for some time.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federal branch secretary Neroli Ellis said the move to employ 40 new nurses for the Royal Hobart should be matched immediately at the LGH.

On the department's figures alone, that decision seems a no-brainer and action needs to be taken sooner rather than later.