More and more Tasmanians are languishing on waiting lists for elective surgery and dental care, and the state's opposition parties say the situation is "unacceptable" and only getting worse.
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Updated health dashboard statistics, released on Friday following a two-week delay, show that an additional 477 people were placed on the elective surgery waiting list between June and September last year, bringing the total number to 11,719.
However, Health Minister Sarah Courtney has stressed that the increase was influenced by national cabinet's decision to suspend all non-urgent elective surgery at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The number of patients needing urgent Category 1 surgery increased by 20 per cent, while the median wait time for elective surgery fell 41 per cent, from 87 days to 51.
Just 50 per cent of patients were admitted for surgery within the clinically recommended time-frame, according to the latest figures.
Labor health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell said there wasn't "a single indication" that improvements were being made to the health system under Ms Courtney's watch.
"There is simply no urgency to address the critical need of thousands of Tasmanians who cannot even get in to see a medical professional, let alone receive their treatment," she said.
"It defies belief that this minister would think it's OK that more than 16,200 Tasmanians are waiting to see a dentist, an increase of almost 900 in only a three month period last year.
"None of this is acceptable and it's abundantly clear the health system is going from bad to worse."
Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said the statistics "tell a painful story of human suffering".
"More Tasmanians are not just waiting in pain for months for critical surgery, but are having their lives potentially put at risk by the delay," she said.
None of this is acceptable and it's abundantly clear the health system is going from bad to worse.
- Sarah Lovell, Labor health spokeswoman
"At the last election, the Liberals promised that, by the end of this term of government, 90 per cent of elective surgery patients would be seen on time.
"That figure now sits at just 50 per cent - truly an indictment on this government."
Ms Courtney said the government would "continue to work hard on delivering health services, including for those who had their care impacted by the pandemic".
"We expect additional surgeries to be performed this year, thanks to a $45.5 million injection into elective surgery over the next 18 months, on top of the $15 million federal funding commitment we negotiated to bring forward," she said.
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