Launceston General Hospital ticks off 199 areas as part of scheduled accreditation process

The hospital has ticked off 199 out of 209 areas as part of its accreditation process, which stakeholders have described as positive steps.

Accreditation of the LGH was discussed during the Legislative Council budget estimates on Tuesday.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson was grilled on the topic by Opposition health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell and Murchison MLC Ruth Forrest.

“I have been advised there are 10 core areas where works are required and there will be time for the hospital to work on those,” Mr Ferguson said.

Consumer and community engagement council Northern chairman Peter O’Sullivan said the response from surveyors had been favourable.

“The consumer and community engagement council were involved in the consultation process,” he said. 

“One of the surveyors went so far as to say it was one of the cleanest hospitals in Australia that they had visited.”

Mr O'Sullivan said the accreditation process was still ongoing and credited the LGH staff for their continued hard work. 

“It is a very tough marking regime, which is what it should be,” he said. 

“Accreditation is a tough gig, even if you pass with 98 per cent there is still room for improvement.”

The next step in the accreditation process is for another review in September.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmania branch secretary Emily Shepherd said accreditation was an essential part of ensuring best practice at hospitals. 

“While 10 core areas sounds like a lot, I think it is important to recognise the 199 areas the hospital did pass and the hard work of nurses and staff in ensuring this,” she said. 

“Without knowing what those core areas are, the most important thing is to ensure staff are receiving the support from both the THS and the health minister, to ensure these standards are met within the required time frame.”

Opposition health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell grilled Mr Ferguson on the accreditation process, but he would not be drawn into speculation.

“What happens if at that review [in September] the hospital doesn’t address those areas,” she asked?

“I will not be going into that hypothetical with you, we would work through that process if that happened,” Mr Ferguson said.

The Launceston General Hospital lost its accreditation for physician training in January 2017.

It also lost its emergency department accreditation in March 2018 due to not meeting the requirements.

Tuesday’s discussion centred on the general accreditation administered through the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme.

The Royal Hobart Hospital is due for revision in August and the North West Regional Hospital is accredited until 2020.

Mersey MLC Mike Gaffney asked Mr Ferguson if any of the outstanding 10 areas at the LGH were reliant on extra funding, to which Mr Ferguson said “no”.

“I can assure you it’s not related to budget. It wouldn’t be simply an adjustment of more finances, and that is the missing link,” Mr Ferguson said.

“It’s more around best practice and process, or governance matters. It is things within the culture of how a clinician might be using best practice techniques and documenting that,” he said.

Mr Ferguson said he wanted to remain clear the Launceston General Hospital remained fully accredited.

“To be absolutely clear – the LGH remains fully accredited and it is not threatened,” he said.

“There is nothing unusual about the process currently underway, which still has a number of months before it is finalised. This happens Australia-wide.

Other topics addressed in Tuesday’s hearing included abortion access for Tasmanian women, health funding, demand on mental health services, specialist recruitment, paramedic numbers and preventative health.