A NEW state government paper has indicated that Tasmanians will have to travel further for some services under the single health system being introduced next year. The government’s green paper, designed to inform health reform, said services that were under-used or reliant on just one clinician were driving up health costs and potentially compromising patient care. The paper said the Royal Hobart Hospital provided many services at a lower volume than comparable hospitals, making them expensive and in some cases unsustainable, and the hospital also provided a higher proportion of surgical patients at a highest average cost. It said that both the North West Regional Hospital and the Mersey Community Hospital delivered many services at low volume, with 88.39 per cent of services at MCH performed less than 50 times a year and 85.23 per cent of cases at NWRH performed less than 50 times a year. ‘‘Reforming our service delivery model to maintain fewer, larger units supported by an appropriate transport infrastructure can bring better results for patients and the community,’’ the paper said. ‘‘Any movement of higher level surgical services to the two principal referral hospitals would need to be complemented by better use of the North-West hospitals for low-risk, lower level services in addition to their key services.’’ The green paper said the balance of care also needed to shift from hospitals to the community, and the state needed to strengthen partnerships between the private and public health sectors. Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the green paper would guide a 10-week public, stakeholder and clinician consultation period for people to have their say before a final white paper on health reform was released next year. For more information, or to read the paper, visit www.dhhs. tas.gov.au/onehealthsystem.
A NEW state government paper has indicated that Tasmanians will have to travel further for some services under the single health system being introduced next year.
The government’s green paper, designed to inform health reform, said services that were under-used or reliant on just one clinician were driving up health costs and potentially compromising patient care.
The paper said the Royal Hobart Hospital provided many services at a lower volume than comparable hospitals, making them expensive and in some cases unsustainable, and the hospital also provided a higher proportion of surgical patients at a highest average cost.
It said that both the North West Regional Hospital and the Mersey Community Hospital delivered many services at low volume, with 88.39 per cent of services at MCH performed less than 50 times a year and 85.23 per cent of cases at NWRH performed less than 50 times a year.
‘‘Reforming our service delivery model to maintain fewer, larger units supported by an appropriate transport infrastructure can bring better results for patients and the community,’’ the paper said.
‘‘Any movement of higher level surgical services to the two principal referral hospitals would need to be complemented by better use of the North-West hospitals for low-risk, lower level services in addition to their key services.’’
The green paper said the balance of care also needed to shift from hospitals to the community, and the state needed to strengthen partnerships between the private and public health sectors.
Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the green paper would guide a 10-week public, stakeholder and clinician consultation period for people to have their say before a final white paper on health reform was released next year.
For more information, or to read the paper, visit www.dhhs. tas.gov.au/onehealthsystem.
