In short:
Tasmania's peak body for doctors is calling for an independent inquiry into the health system, which it says is in "perpetual crisis".
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it → call → crisis
The proposal has been dismissed by the health minister, who says it would be a costly duplication.
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it → dismiss → minister
The medical body says Tasmania is taking a piecemeal approach to hospital fixes.
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Tasmania → say → fixes
An independent commission of inquiry into Tasmania's health system is needed to get to the bottom of system-wide problems and find evidence-based solutions, doctors say.
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doctors → need → solutions
"We want to know why after so many reviews, after so much money, after so many good people working extraordinarily hard to fix our health system, why are we still in a state of perpetual crisis," the Australian Medical Association's (AMA) Tasmanian branch president Meg Creely said today.
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Creely → want → crisis
Dr Creely said a holistic inquiry was needed so that each problem was not looked at in isolation.
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problem → say → isolation
"When we have a blockage in our ED [emergency department], that's related to the sub-acute beds; when we have ambulance ramping, that's related to our workforce," she said.
"
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she → have → workforce
These problems are connected and we have to stop looking at them one problem at a time."
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we → connect → time
The AMA's call comes after a man died shortly after arriving at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) last week.
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man → come → Hospital
The man's family had been forced to drive him there because no ambulances were available.
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ambulances → force → him
Dr Creely said that incident, which is being investigated by the health department, along with "sustained pressure" across emergency departments, ambulance services and growing waitlists brought the need for independent examination into sharp focus.
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which → say → focus
It comes as the state government looks to cut $700 million out of the health department, as part of the Treasurer's Operational Efficiencies program.
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government → come → program
Inquiry 'wouldn't help a single Tasmanian', health minister says
However, Health Minister Bridget Archer dismissed the proposal, saying a commission of inquiry (COI) "would not help a single Tasmanian patient".
"A COI would cost upwards of $30 million and take years to complete, all while replicating the work of existing inquiries, including one currently underway through the Legislative Council," Ms Archer said in a statement.
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Archer → help → statement
"The AMA's proposal also has no detail behind it, with no terms of reference and seemingly no idea what actual problem they are trying to solve."
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they → have → problem
Dr Creely said the Legislative Council inquiry into the financial and operational performance of the Department of Health was doing valuable work, but the AMA's proposed inquiry was much broader in focus.
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inquiry → say → focus
"We very much think that the evidence [the Legislative Council committee has] currently gathered should inform any future inquiry," she said.
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she → think → inquiry
Dr Creely said there would be a cost for a large inquiry, but it paled compared to the issue it was trying to fix.
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it → say → issue
She said the state was spending $10 million a day on health.
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state → say → health
Performance steadily getting worse
A range of metrics for Tasmania's health system have steadily worsened in recent years.
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range → get → years
More than 9,500 people currently sit on the elective surgery waitlist.
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people → sit → waitlist
Of those, fewer than two-thirds are seen on time, while those admitted spend an average of about six months longer than the clinically recommended time frame.
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those → see → frame
A policy mandating the offload of patients from ambulances to the emergency department within 60 minutes has been implemented to get paramedics back onto the road sooner.
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policy → mandate → road
However, figures provided to the ABC in 2025 found that since the policy mandate, there had been no change in ambulance response times.
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figures → provide → times
Federal issues adding to state problems
Ms Archer has repeatedly blamed the federal government for some of the state's hospital problems, including bed block from hospital patients waiting for federally provided aged care placements.
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Archer → add → placements
In a statement last month, she said there was a national crisis with more than 3,600 aged care patients across Australia stranded in public hospitals.
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patients → say → hospitals
"In Tasmania, the number of patients stranded in aged care alone has nearly doubled in the past two years, from 41 to 78 patients," Ms Archer said.
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Archer → strand → patients
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler last week said the government had eased hospital pressure through increased funding, more aged care beds, expanded bulk billing and Urgent Care Clinics.
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government → say → funding
"There are real pressures facing the aged care system right now, and we continue to work with states and territories in good faith,"he said.
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we → be → faith,"he
Dr Creely said a state commission of inquiry could not compel the federal government to take part.
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commission → say → part
"But whether they choose to or not shouldn't stop us from trying to fix our own house and look after the patients and the people within our state," she said.
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she → choose → state
The acting director of the Royal Hobart Hospital's emergency department said there needed to be a better understanding of what was happening in EDs.
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what → act → EDs
Dr Byron Booth, who joined the AMA in calling for a wider inquiry, said there were "large numbers of people in the ED who don't need to be there".
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who → join → ED
"That's really not the truth of what we're seeing — we're seeing elderly people who are not able to go to their homes, who don't have a nursing home to go to and need admission to our hospital."
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who → see → hospital
AMA immediate past president Michael Lumsden-Steel said an inquiry should look at the state's health infrastructure requirements.
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inquiry → say → requirements
"Every other state is in the process of building new hospitals,"he said.
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state → build → hospitals,"he
"In Tasmania, we're seeing piecemeal renovations of emergency departments, hospital wards and bolt-on processes."
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we → see → departments
The Aporia