The Heart Foundation, Royal Flying Doctor Service, Healthy Tasmania, Australian Medical Association, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and individual health experts told the Sunday Examiner this week what they believed the state’s prevention priorities should be.

The Liberals, Labor and the Greens have all released their health policies ahead of Saturday’s election, but stakeholders say greater funding commitment to prevention is needed.

The exact amount varies, with some saying the equivalent of 5 per cent of the $1.7 billion state health budget was needed, others saying 5 per cent of the overall budget, and others undecided about the exact amount.

“AMA Tasmania members believe 5 per cent of the health budget is a good start with increases depending on how key indicators are improving,” president Dr Stuart Day said.

“Sometimes it takes legislation and not money to effect change.”

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Heart Foundation chief executive Graeme Lynch said the equivalent of 5 per cent of the state health budget was needed, although the funding did not necessarily have to come from the health budget.

Healthy Tasmania’s Lucy Byrne said the funds needed were closer to 5 per cent of the overall state budget.

“Per head of population, Tasmania has more health and social issues than other states of Australia and as such, we need to contribute more per head than other states to get us ahead,” she said.

“For success in preventative health, you need to have the right amount – the right ‘dose’.”

Launceston cardiologist Dr Geoff Evans said 5 per cent of the health budget was a “good start”. 

“We need to target kids first at schools, and then they educate their parents,” he said.

“And the cost of healthy food ingredients compared to the accessibility and cost of fast food and processed food needs to change.”

All interviewees wanted each cabinet portfolio to better share the responsibility for preventative health.

“We need a ‘health in all policies’ approach to be able to address the underlying causes and social determinants of health,” Royal Flying Doctor Service chief executive John Kirwan said. 

“We need to be asking every time we invest in new or expanded health services, have we done all we can to avoid this new or expanded service? 

“We need to focus on outcomes and the quality of life, not the number of beds or staff.”

Devonport exercise physiologist Ben Brockman said Tasmania was currently “set up to fix rather than prevent”.

“An increased cultural focus on wellbeing is essential but is a long way off and is likely to require input from many areas of government, not just the health portfolio,” he said.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said a whole-of-government approach was the “optimal outcome”. 

The college also said GPs needed to be better supported to continue their prevention work.

“GPs do prevention well on a one-on-one basis,” president Dr Bastian Seidel said. 

“They and their teams should be better supported to continue this work. 

“We need to highlight the benefits that come from regular GP checks in a more public way.”

Greens’ health spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the government needed to refocus overall budget priorities into keeping people healthy and putting preventative health services into regional communities.

If not, she said Tasmanians’ health would “slip even further behind other states”.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the Liberals’ five-year healthy Tasmania strategic plan would be extended by two years if re-elected. 

“The plan also includes our $6.6 million Tasmanian community health fund for individuals and groups to improve the health of the community,” he said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Rebecca White said preventative health would be front and centre if Labor won government. 

“We will commit the biggest strategic investment in preventative health in the state’s history,” she said.

“Good health in our communities boosts productivity and a healthy state delivers a stronger economy.”

Each group and individual agreed more funding and focus on prevention was needed, as well as a whole-of-government approach and more utilisation of GP services.

However, there were some differing views about the preventative measures Tasmania should take.

The Examiner will this week explore those issues and measures in more detail, including preventative dental care, a sugar tax, fast food advertising, exercise programs in low socio-economic areas, and food accessibility.