Launceston General Hospital is the country's worst performing hospital for patient access block, data from Australia's peak body for emergency medicine has revealed.
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Access block occurs when admitted patients needing a hospital bed are delayed from leaving the emergency department because of a lack of inpatient bed capacity.
Findings from a June snapshot survey conducted by the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine showed 57 per cent of patients awaiting treatment at the LGH were access blocked, with 11 patients staying longer than 24 hours.
In September, 46 per cent were blocked, while seven waited longer than 24 hours.
It comes after Health Minister Sarah Courtney confirmed no solutions from June's access solutions Meeting had been implemented at the LGH, despite assurances they would be.
The June 19 crisis health summit brought together stakeholders in a bid to generate solutions to access block issues at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
However, ACEM president Simon Judkins said the situation facing Tasmanian hospitals had further deteriorated, despite government statements the improvements were driving better patient flow.
Dr Judkins has urged the state government to implement a statewide strategy to ensure patient safety at all Tasmanian emergency departments, including a potential shake-up of hospital leadership positions.
"Numerous reports in recent years show longstanding cultural issues affecting whole of hospital performance," he said.
"Given the situation is now as desperate as it is, it is in the interests of all Tasmanians that the government invests in cultural change and leadership programs to resolve these issues.
"It may also be time to explore who is in those leadership positions and if they are, in fact, the right people to oversee these vital pieces of work and culture change."
According to ACEM trend data, the proportion of access-blocked patients waiting longer than 24 hours in Tasmania has ranged from 130 per cent to 520 per cent higher than national levels between 2015-2019.
In late 2019, the RHH and LGH had 20 and 13 access-blocked patients respectively, compared to the national hospital average of nine.
ACEM Tasmania faculty chairwoman Dr Marielle Ruigrok said compliance with the principles for timely, quality care that were agreed to in the Access Solutions action plan, needed to be evident in a reduced rate of access block and 24-hour waits at both the RHH and LGH.
Health Minister Sarah Courtney agreed that hospital performance had not improved in the face of growing demand, but said she was committed to the implementation of the access solutions plan.
"As acknowledged at the access solutions meeting, these are long-term challenges, and we do face very real increases in demand for health care," she said.
"This makes it all the more important that we continue to collaborate to achieve real, sustained change in our hospitals.
"I acknowledge the college's comments around the need to improve culture and processes, to ensure that staff are supported and our hospitals are operating as effectively as possible.
"I have asked the [Health Department] secretary to consider the recommendations made ... and I look forward to meeting with the college later this week."
The ACEM and the state government will meet on Friday, November 15.
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.
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