The toll this has taken on nursing staff and their colleagues is immeasurable.

Recent media coverage about these issues re-ignited an age-old issue for nursing staff, who have been campaigning for change since 2018.

At that time, nursing staff and thousands of Northern Tasmanians called on then health minister Michael Ferguson to address bed block and the challenges it presented. However, change was not forthcoming and ED nurses spent the better part of a year and a half out the front of the LGH their own time calling on the state government to address their concerns.

COVID-19 has highlighted the absolute need for a robust and well-resourced healthcare system.

But nursing staff and their colleagues in the LGH ED have been battling a pandemic well before COVID- 19.

There has been little or no increase in resources, aside from some won by ANMF in the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.

Bed block of pandemic proportions is recognised by everyone as the root cause of the challenges faced by ED.

Long-term strategies for capital works for increased capacity and master planning for future works to meet the needs of the North for the next 20 years are underway.

But what about the needs now?

Addressing staffing and work health and safety issues now is vital to buoy the nursing staff and their patients until longer-term strategies come into effect.

LGH ED nursing staff are like builders removing asbestos without protective equipment or a firefighter without a truck or a hose - doing the absolute best they can, but unable to meet the needs of those for whom they are providing care.

The lessons COVID-19 have taught us must not be ignored.

Fully resourcing and supporting the health care system and those working within it are vital, so that nurses and their colleagues can respond efficiently and effectively.

We need urgent, additional, dedicated nursing staff in the LGH ED to provide care for those patients in the waiting room.

We need funding for minor renovations to create more space and a safer environment for those patients arriving by ambulance.

And we need funding for more support staff to enable clinicians to focus on providing patient care.

Yes, these resources may be over and above the legislated staffing requirements and yes it will costs more money, but the reality is patient wait times for treatment and inpatient beds are also well above accepted timelines.

When bed block is no longer an issue, staffing levels could decrease - along with the reduced ambulance ramping, wait times and over-crowding.

This is the ideal reality nursing staff and their healthcare colleagues want to see. They are also ready to be part of the solution.

Until then, however, it is unacceptable that nursing staff and their medical colleagues are expected to work in an environment that is putting their own health and wellbeing at risk, especially when they continue to put their patients before themselves.

The state government has been unwavering in protecting Tasmanians from COVID-19 - and we applaud them for their efforts in keeping the whole state safe with borders closed.

But it's time for those on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, who care for Tasmanians every day in their hour of need, to receive that same level of support.

Not just with placatory words but action - fix the Launceston General Hospital Emergency Department.