After two years of advocating for the health of all Tasmanians, Dr Helen McArdle will step away from her role as state president of the Australian Medical Association.
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At the best of times, the Tasmanian health system is a complex beast facing a multitude of issues from ageing infrastructure and workforce shortages to long waitlists and under pressure GPs.
Throw on top of that the largest global health pandemic of our time and it's clear, Dr Mcardle had her work cut out for her since day one.
However despite the challenges of COVID, Dr McArdle has advocated for the big issues, deftly navigating the global pandemic and seeking the best health outcomes for Tasmania.
"Well, it was a very busy two years and as we all know a large part of that was taken up with COVID, but despite COVID sort of dominating, there were also numerous other issues in health that needed to be dealt with," she said.
Dr McArdle said the increase in beds and staff at the state's three major hospitals was something she identified as a key achievement of the AMA under her watch.
"We got two additional wards at the Royal Hobart Hospital, a new ward opened at the LGH and some additional beds in the North-West," she said
"We've got a significant increase in beds, a significant increase in staffing, not as much as we need, but at least it's a start rather than having no change."
Dr McArdle said the increases came through maintaining and building good relationships with other health stakeholders in the North, including the government, but said she felt the AMA could "take a lot of the credit for achieving the improvement".
While Dr McArdle was pleased with what the association had achieved, there were some issues she said she would like to see prioritised, including a quickening of the LGH master plan and co-located hospital.
"We would have liked to see a bit more progress, we would have liked to see a much clearer outcome commitment on the funding and the timeframe for the LGH master plan, but it is going ahead and it is going to be a very positive move for the hospital, we just don't want it to drag on and on and on," she said.
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Andrew Chounding
An experienced multi-platform journalist focusing on the issues that impact health in Tasmania. With a background in social research and public policy, health reporting for Andrew is about ensuring the best health outcomes for the Northern Tasmanian community. Contact Andrew at: andrew.chounding@examiner.com.au or 0437 358 262
An experienced multi-platform journalist focusing on the issues that impact health in Tasmania. With a background in social research and public policy, health reporting for Andrew is about ensuring the best health outcomes for the Northern Tasmanian community. Contact Andrew at: andrew.chounding@examiner.com.au or 0437 358 262
