Dying while waiting to see a medical specialist in the public health system in Tasmania is a very real possibility when the wait times stretch into years, say professionals working in the sector.
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Between 20 and 35 people in Northern Tasmania die every month while waiting for an outpatient service, while in the North West that figure sits between 12 and 28.
Particular concerns about colonoscopy and gastroscopy delays exist.
Right to information data supplied by Labor shows around 650 people died while listed on state outpatient waitlists across January and August last year, while more than 5000 have died on lists since 2014.
Outpatient wait times are often long, sometimes up to six years.
This is on top of the "hidden" wait to get on the outpatient waitlists after a GP referral, and there may be additional waits for surgery once a specialist is seen.
Labor MP Anita Dow said the 10-year death toll for people on waitlists was devastating.
"The appalling statistics lay bare the damage the Liberals have done to Tasmania's health system in their 10 years in office," she said.
Health Minster Guy Barnett said the government had transformed outpatient services, and was now seeing 10,000 outpatients every month.
"Patients are being seen sooner, and closer to home," he said.
A closer look at the data and how it might impact you
Australian Medical Association president John Saul said it was difficult to measure whether people are dying because of the conditions they require the specialist appointments for.
He said people can die of potentially unrelated causes, such as an elderly person needing a new hip, who also has heart disease and diabetes, who then dies of a heart attack while waiting three years for the hip.
Or the death might directly connect to the wait.
"Were they waiting for a colonoscopy, and end up dying of cancer four or five years later? That is a tragedy," Dr Saul said.
He highlighted strong concerns around the current delay for colonoscopy and gastroscopy public services, as well as delays for hip and knee care.
"If someone has an obvious breast lump, and a cancer diagnosis on mammogram, then we can access those services really quite quickly. But if someone has some bleeding in their bowel and they need a colonoscopy, then we find our public services often struggle," Dr Saul said.
"Services for clear cut diagnosis are reasonably prompt, but when it is a grey area diagnosis, we unfortunately see some considerable delays."
He said delays for specialist outpatients services were occurring in urgent circumstances, which at worse could result in cancer going from treatable to untreatable.
"A category one case, bleeding form the bowel, needing an urgent colonoscopy. It happens across the board," he said.
Dr Saul said long waits in the North West were also of particular concern, given the higher incidence of chronic health conditions and the increased risk of complications.
Labor says waitlists are appalling
Ms Dow said the problems in healthcare were getting worse, with more than 1,800 people dying on elective surgery wait lists since 2014.
"It is heartbreaking that so many Tasmanians are spending their final days unable to access the treatment they need, and it's devastating for their families and loved ones as well."
Mr Barnett said there were more medical professionals and more beds in the health system.
"This is a far cry from the days of the Labor Green government who sacked a nurse a day for nine months, closed hospital wards and put beds into storage."
