JW: Considering the significant overhaul of the Tasmanian Health Service – the One Health System – do you think it’s working?

MF: It’s definitely better. I certainly don’t believe in a set and forget mentality around health. I think that there are always opportunities to improve in the future, but I was delighted that this was the first bill that I took through parliament this year. You are actually now seeing the very best of the One Health System, where our hospitals are and do have to work together, so that we can give people across our state access to better health services. At the same time as giving more responsibility and accountability to local hospital managers, to be able to work through local issues.

JW: In March, the LGH was stripped as an accredited training site for fellows of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine. Have there been any developments in this being reinstated and are you concerned that it might affect the recruitment of next year’s trainees?

MF: It certainly doesn’t affect the service that’s being provided at the LGH, so we want to make sure that the public are reassured that it has no impact on them. But the LGH is successfully recruiting more permanents and that is an important part of that. And the government has a better than ever relationship with the College of Emergency Medicine and we are proactively working on seeing training accreditation returned to the LGH emergency department. 

JW: The Healthy Tasmania Strategy is quite ambitious, you have said this before – do you think it’s realistic to achieve those goals by 2025?

MF: Well it’s a combined obligation. It is something that we all must strive for together, not just government. The benefits are there for the whole community as well. If we can be healthier and prevent the need for hospital-based treatment, then it is better for our state, it is better for our health system, but actually people get to live longer and happier lives. My mission going into 2019 is to try to get more of a mainstream notion, or a mainstream acceptance in the community that we can all do a little more. 

JW: If it is a collaborative approach, how are we actually going to achieve that? Is it a matter of putting more money towards preventative health?

MF: The answer to your question is yes. We do need to put more resources into preventative health, but it needs to be not just about writing cheques – and we will be willing to do that. In the new year you’ll see that we’ve got more funding that will be provided for more preventative health issues in the community. But it has got to be more than that. For it to be effective, funding needs to land in places where it is really needed and wanted by the community. And where you have local champions who are prepared to run their own localised health drives. I don’t think it will be a one size fits all that helps us to advance to the healthy vision that we have for our state and I think that we can all play a part in that. 

JW: What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions the public have about the Tasmanian health system?

MF: I think that the Tasmanian public have got the most mature view and outlook on the health system actually, much more healthy than many of the politicians in this state. Health has been too political for too long and the biggest message I took out of my health forums that I held around the state... is how people are actually a bit sick and tired of the health politics. I think Tasmanians understand that health is a tough portfolio, a difficult portfolio for a minister and they also know that there is never enough money to meet all of the needs that are out there. That’s a question for government about making sure we get the balance right and that we are putting more money into where it is needed and helping the community to be as healthy as possible, so as to not need hospital care. I relish the job, I am grateful for it.