The closure of the LGH’s Hospital in the Home program is a short-sighted decision caused by the Green-Labor Government’s desperate attempt to fill their budget black hole.

On Monday I met with local advocates of the program who are deeply concerned about the impact the closure will have on the community.

The Hospital in the Home, where patients with complex medical needs are treated by specialist nurses in their own homes, instead of spending time in and out of hospital, frees up access to scarce hospital beds and saves infection-vulnerable patients such as those living with Cystic Fibrosis.

I am aware of more than 1300 people supporting the retention of the program on the Facebook site, which echoes public sentiment about the cuts.

It is extremely encouraging to see people so passionate about their local services.

During my meeting today I was made aware that advocates of the program have been regularly trying to contact state and federal government representatives including Michelle O’Byrne and Geoff Lyons to express their concern, but to no avail.

This is wrong and it has to change.

With hospitals on the critical list, why would the Government close a cost-effective, well-established program with runs on the board?  The Health Minister should be looking to increase hospital avoidance programs, not closing them and ignoring public concern.

Many Tasmanians – including almost 1000 that signed a petition I tabled in Parliament today – have expressed their strong opposition to the savage health cuts by Labor and the Greens.

The petition calls on the Government to protect health services at the Launceston General Hospital, including elective surgery and acute care beds, from cuts and instead make saving in other non-essential areas.

These cuts are a direct result of the financial incompetence of Labor and the Greens, and everyday we are rightly seeing Tasmanians express their concern.
The Liberals remain committed to fighting these elective surgery cuts, and believe that savings can, and should, be made in other, non-frontline areas.

Our Alternative Budget outlines almost $200 million in non-frontline savings such as cutting the Fox Taskforce, abolishing the Tasmania Together Board and administration and abolishing Park and Ride, all of which can and should be cut instead of elective surgery.

I urge the Minister to adopt these savings, instead of continuing to put the lives of Tasmanians at risk.

I congratulate Mrs Christine Taylor, an elective surgery waiting list patient, for organising this petition and fighting against these savage cuts.

Sign my e-petition online by clicking here

Northern Tasmanians are being badly let down by Labor and the Greens’ betrayal of our community. Labor and the Greens have taken the razor to our LGH and the statewide health system in a way which will see over 12,000 Tasmanians miss out on desperately needed surgery over the next three years.

We have almost 3,000 already waiting patiently (and often in much pain) on the LGH elective surgery waiting list – and this latest frontline service cut from the local Labor and Green members could see waiting lists almost triple.

This Government has its priorities all wrong.  Having already messed up the state budget, spent all our savings and now cutting desperately needed services, even now the Government would still rather spend money on things that the Liberals have shown should be scrapped. This is a terrible set of priorities and shows just how out of touch the Green-Labor Government is and just how bad they are at managing Tasmania’s budget.

I have been part of our Northern Tasmanian community fighting for our LGH for a long time now. And an incompetent government is punishing people in my community. Together with my Liberal colleagues I will do all I can to ensure that Northern Tasmanians are given the health care that we all deserve.

Sign my e-petition online by clicking here

As your local member, I’m working to ensure that Northern residents have an opportunity to express their disgust at the heartless cuts to frontline health services at the LGH.
 
I will present both a written petition and an e-petition to parliament calling on the Green-Labor Government to protect frontline services at the LGH and instead make savings in non-essential areas across Government.
 
This is one sure way members of the public who feel strongly about bed closures and a freeze on elective surgery can make sure their voices are clearly heard.
 
The Green-Labor Government continues to demonstrate its priorities are all wrong and Tasmanians I talk to are angry, they are just not going to stand for it.
 
The petition can be downloaded (click here for the PDF) so your friends and work colleagues can add their own signatures, or alternatively add you name to the e-petition.

Please, I urge you to support our LGH by supporting this initiative. Thank you. Michael

Sign the petition here and now by clicking here

Commonsense has prevailed in awarding the tender for air ambulance services to the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).  The RFDS has a long and proud history of delivering for Tasmanians, and investing its own funds into health services and health infrastructure in this State.

There should have been no question mark in the mind of the Green-Labor Government that the RFDS was best placed to continue to deliver fixed wing services for Tasmania.  It was only pig-headedness by Labor that it pursued a competitive tender process.

The Greens are no better; they rolled over when required and reneged on their own election policy in the process.  Only the Tasmanian Liberals have stood by the RFDS and fought to have the fixed wing aero-medical contract remain with the invaluable RFDS.

The RFDS is to be congratulated for winning the tender to provide air ambulance services for the next eight years in Tasmania.  Tasmanians living on the Bass Strait Islands and in remote communities will be thrilled.

Jeremy Rockliff is the Shadow Minister for Health