The Friends of Northern Hospice group have been lobbying state and federal governments for a dedicated hospice in Northern Tasmania since the closure of Philip Oakden House in 2007.

Now, group spokeswoman Bark Baker - a retired palliative care and hospice nurse - said issues were compounding in the acute setting, with dying patients repeatedly presenting to the ED.

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"We hear stories all the time of people who are within hours of dying, being transferred from nursing homes - which is their home, where they should be dying - not on a trolley in the ED and not in an ambulance," she said.

"Most people want to die at home, but it can't be offered all the time and we have to offer those people an option."

Northern Tasmania has four publicly funded end-of-life beds available at the Melwood Unit at Calvary's St Lukes hospital, while specialist teams also provide community-based palliative care.

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Hospice services are also available at smaller regional hospitals. However, Ms Baker said end-of-life services remained fragmented, with the ED often the only point of call for after hours care.

"There is no 24-hour service. If you call the palliative care hotline after hours, if you need medical attention you are directed to dial triple zero," she said.

"A&E staff don't have the time or often the expertise to care for a dying person and often several distressed relatives. Their role is to care for the acutely ill.

"It's not suitable for someone to be dying in an acute hospital and they are taking up a bed. It's also not cost affective - it costs twice as much as it would cost to have them in a hospice bed."

While palliative care can begin at the time of diagnosis and continue during treatment, hospice care is short-term - beginning after a medical assessment when a person has a few months or less left to live.

Launceston has been without a standalone end-of-life facility for the past 14 years.

In 2016 Friends of Northern Hospice submitted a business case to convert government-owned Launceston building Allambi into a purpose-built 10 bed hospice and palliative care centre.

At the time, the state government commissioned a feasibility study which found there was no need for a standalone hospice service in Launceston, concluding there were enough inpatient beds in Northern Tasmania to meet demand expected in the next two decades - something disputed by Friends of Northern Hospice.

In 2019 calls for a dedicated hospice were reignited as part of the federal election, with Labor pledging to build a palliative care unit as part of a $35 million sub-acute facility which would be co-located at the LGH precinct.

Unsuccessful, last year the Friends of Northern Hospice re-submitted its plans as part of submissions for the state government's Our Healthcare Our Future plan.

It proposes a model of care that enables all specialist palliative care services to be co-located in one building, with 24-hour access, integrated in or within close proximity to the LGH.

Under the model, GPs would be able to admit their patients directly to the facility and continue to provide care to them.

However, ahead of the state election, Ms Baker said neither the Labor or Liberal parties had committed to funding a standalone facility.

The Liberal government has committed $52 million over the next four years for palliative and community health care.

This includes $10.5 million to strengthen its in-home palliative care and after hour care services, aimed at improving end-of-life care in rural and regional communities, and $6.8 million to provide better palliative care services, in partnership with private hospitals and service providers.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney said palliative care funding had increased under the Liberals, including the refurbishment and delivery of new palliative care spaces in hospitals.

"A feasibility study report found the concept of a standalone hospice was not viable, however did recommend further improvements to existing in-patient and community palliative care services. This is exactly what the Liberals have been committed to ...," she said.

Ms Courtney said hospice and other subacute end-of-life care options would be further explored as part of its Our Healthcare Future process.

The commitment was welcomed by Palliative Care Tasmania, who would receive $4.25 million under the Liberal plan to continue its GP education and training programs, workforce development and community education and awareness.

Palliative Care Tasmania chief executive Colleen Johnstone said it was a step in the right direction: "in addition to investment in infrastructure and acute services, we need to be simultaneously investing in community, in-home and locally delivered services in order to meet the current and future demands of palliative care".

Labor health spokesman Bastian Seidel said they were committed to making palliative care services available and accessible to all Tasmanians, regardless of where they live.

"That's exactly why we are funding 24/7 community and palliative care nursing care and in addition also fund $3.5 million for capital works upgrades for palliative care rooms in our small rural district hospitals throughout Tasmania," he said.

Dr Seidel said he had met with member of the Friends of the Northern Hospice group in regards to their refined proposal, and said he was committed to working with the group to "co-design a hospice and integrated community palliative solution for greater Launceston".

Meanwhile, Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer said she was continuing to engage with different stakeholders on the complex issue: "including just over the past few weeks, who hold a range of views on how palliative care services could and should be provided to our community".

"I will continue to work with my state counterparts on how we can best deliver palliative care services that appropriately meet the needs of our community."

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