Launceston General Hospital has been granted provisional emergency medicine training accreditation, almost a year on from being stripped of its status with the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine.
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ACEM revoked the hospital's training accreditation in March last year, after it failed to meet the requirements for trainees enrolled in the Fellowship of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine training program.
The decision was based largely on the number of full-time equivalent emergency specialists in the LGH emergency department, among other conditions.
On Wednesday an ACEM spokesman confirmed the LGH emergency department had been granted provisional accreditation and would be able to appoint trainees for the 2019 training year.
"That is, ACEM has determined, based on evidence, that the site meets, or has the potential to meet, all of the accreditation requirements," the spokesman said.
"An inspection will take place later this year to determine if the site will be fully accredited for the 2020 training year and beyond."
LGH emergency department director Lucy Reed said the decision was a "big win" for the hospital.
"We've put an application in showing a heap of work and a heap of progress, demonstrating our ability to supervise and train doctors to do emergency medicine," she said.
"They [ACEM] have accepted that application and we now have provisional accreditation.
"They will visit us in June and I hope then they will see the progress we have made.
"We still have work to do, but this is a big step for us."
Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the decision meant trainees at the LGH would not experience any disruption to their training.
"The relatively short period of time it took to be reinstated is down to the excellent work done by staff, led by Dr Lucy Reed, and we’re grateful for their professionalism and commitment throughout this process," he said.
"We have also successfully recruited extra emergency medicine specialists to support the ED, including the teaching, training and supervision of College trainees."
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Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
